Simone Biles broke down in tears during Wednesday's Senate hearing as she recounted the sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar and revealed how the FBI failed her and dozens of other victims by turning a 'blind eye' to the abuse.
The Olympic athlete, 24, called for the agents who failed to take action for more than a year after the abuse was reported to face federal prosecution as they enabled the sexual predator to continue to prey on dozens of young victims.
'To be clear, I blame Larry Nassar and I also blame an entire system that enabled and perpetrated that abuse,' she said.
Biles was joined by her fellow star athletes and Nassar victims McKayla Maroney, Maggie Nichols and Aly Raisman as they each gave damning testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee for its hearing into the FBI's botched probe into Nassar's sexual abuse.
Raisman delivered one of the hearing's most chilling lines, when she blasted the FBI for failing to properly investigate their initial abuse claims against Nassar, leaving him free to abuse another 120 children.
She said: 'Nassar found more than 100 new victims to molest. It was like serving innocent children up to a pedophile on a silver platter.'
The four women testified how they were made to feel the years of abuse they suffered 'wasn't a big deal' when they reported it to FBI agents, who then failed to investigate their allegations and then tried to cover-up their inaction when it came to light.
Such shocking failings enabled the predator to carry on his reign of abuse. Nassar abused a further 120 victims in the 17 months between July 2015 - when victims reported the abuse to the FBI - and December 2016 - when the pedophile was finally arrested on child porn charges.
All four women testified to lawmakers that they know of fellow athletes who were abused during this period when 'the FBI did nothing'.
They all demanded accountability with Biles saying the agents who failed them must 'at least be federally prosecuted to the fullest extent because they need to be held accountable'.
Senator Patrick Leahy, who had asked what accountability the survivors wanted to see, agreed: 'As a former prosecutor, I agree with that.'
Simone Biles broke down in tears Wednesday as she recounted the abuse she suffered at the hands of Larry Nassar during the Senate hearing into FBI's botched probe into the sexual abuse case
US Olympic gymnasts (L-R) Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman and Maggie Nichols listen to opening comments
Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney wipes away tears as she gives testimony (left). Maroney and Biles hold hands as they leave the hearing
Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman and Maggie Nichols, listen to opening comments during the Senate hearing
Biles and her fellow star athletes McKayla Maroney, Maggie Nichols and Aly Raisman were sworn in to the hearing Wednesday
The four survivors testified on Capitol Hill about the FBI's botched handling of its sex abuse investigation of Nassar
During Wednesday's hearing:
- Simone Biles said the FBI 'failed' her and other victims and revealed the abuse took its toll during the delayed Tokyo Olympics as she was forced to live with 'the reminders of this story for another 365 days'
- McKayley Maroney revealed FBI agents asked her if Larry Nassar 'helped' her when he molested her the first time she met him and also asked her 'is that all?' as she broke down in tears during a three-hour 2015 interview that they failed to document for almost two years
- Raisman said it took 14 months for the FBI to contact her for an interview after she reported Larry Nassar's abuse and then 'pressured' her into accepting her abuser's plea deal
- Larry Nassar's first accuser Maggie Nichols said the FBI 'betrayed' his victims and that she is still waiting for answers six years after reporting the abuse
- FBI Director Chris Wray said he was 'deeply and profoundly sorry' to the people failed by the FBI but admitted 'I don't have a have a good explanation' for the bureau's failings
- After the hearing, Kaylee Lorincz told reporters she was one of the 120 victims abused after the FBI knew about the abuse and failed to act, saying 'my 2016 abuse is on them'
- Senator Richard Blumenthal blasted the bureau saying its 'inaction led to victimization of the most horrific and hideous kind' and also hit out at the DOJ for being a 'no-show' at the hearings
FBI Director Chris Wray issued an apology on behalf of the FBI as he and Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz were called to testify during the second panel of the hearing after the four survivors had given their emotional testimony.
Wray said the FBI agents 'broke the trust' of the victims and he said he was 'deeply and profoundly sorry to each and every one of you' for the actions of the agents who 'failed in their core duty of protecting people.'
He sent a message to the survivors saying he will make sure 'everyone at the FBI remembers what happened here in heartbreaking detail' to make sure it is 'never repeated'.
'I am not interested in simply addressing this wrong and moving it on. It's my commitment to you that I and my entire senior leadership team that everyone at the FBI remembers what happen here in heartbreaking detail,' he said.
'We need to remember that the pain occurred when we fail to do our jobs. That is what we need to know to ensure this tragedy is never repeated.'
He added: 'That was inexcusable, it never should have happened, and we are doing everything in our power to make sure it never happens again.'
Wray said the FBI has started implementing all of the recommendations made in the IG's report but admitted: 'I don't have a have a good explanation' for the bureau's failings.
Two other Nassar survivors joined the women at a press conference after the Senate hearing where one women revealed she was one of the 120 victims abused by the pedophile in the 17-month period where the FBI failed to act.
Kaylee Lorincz said she continued to be abused by Nassar for another year because agents at the FBI 'did not go their job' saying 'my 2016 abuse is on them.'
'My last appointment with Larry Nassar was Feb. 2, 2016 and that appointment should've never happened,' she said.
'I'm here speaking on behalf of the 120 victims who saw Larry after the FBI knew of his abuse in 2015 and failed to investigate, failed to take action and failed to protect.
Former Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar in court in 2018
'Let me be clear, I should not be here. I was abused from 2011 to 2016 and my life has been forever changed.'
Lorincz demanded accountability and criminal charges for the FBI agents who failed to investigate Nassar.
'Where is the accountability for letting Larry continue to sexually assault little girls on your watch?' she asked.
'Where is the accountability for those at the FBI who chose to place personal gain ahead of their duties to protect and serve?
'Had anyone at the FBI done their job, then I would not be here speaking to you today. Accountability will only occur when the FBI agents who did not do their job face criminal charges. My 2016 abuse is on them.'
Senator Richard Blumenthal blasted the FBI in the briefing, saying: 'The FBI's inaction led to victimization of the most horrific and hideous kind.'
'There were 120 young women who laid before Larry Nassar on his examining table and he did with them whatever he wanted because the FBI did nothing,' he said.
Blumenthal also hit out at the Department of Justice for failing to show at the hearing.
'The Department of Justice today was a no-show. The Department of Justice failed to appear. They have responsibility ultimately for the FBI, for the prosecutions, and for action here,' he said.
Raisman said the no-show 'says to me that child abuse does not matter'.
The Senate hearing examined why the FBI failed to investigate Nassar, 58, for his crimes sooner, leaving the predator free to carry on his decades-long reign of abuse for more than a year after the allegations were first reported.
The FBI's handling of the case came under close scrutiny in a damning report by the Justice Department watchdog released in July.
McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisma, Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chuck Grassley (l-r) at a press conference after the hearing
At a press conference after the Senate hearing US Olympic gymnast Kaylee Lorincz (left with Maggie Nichols on right) revealed she was one of the 120 victims abused by the pedophile in the 17-month period where the FBI failed to act. Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney and three-time National Champion Jessica Howard pictured at the briefing (right)
Horowitz's report found the bureau made a series of failures in its handling of allegations against Nassar when agents were first alerted to the abuse in 2015.
Special Agent in Charge William Jay Abbott for the FBI's Indianapolis office failed to formally open an investigation and then tried to cover-up his inaction by lying during interviews with the watchdog, the report found. Abbott retired from the bureau in 2018.
It emerged Tuesday that the FBI has now fired a second agent accused in the report of failing to launch a proper investigation into the allegations.
Michael Langeman, who worked as a supervisory special agent (SSA) and interviewed Maroney when she came forward with allegations in 2015, was ousted from his role last week.
Langeman did not properly document his interview with Maroney and failed to take action for 17 months, the report revealed.
Langeman was removed from his duties as an agent following the release of the report before his firing this week.
The report also found that the agents 'lied' and falsified records about the case and their handling of it when speaking to the watchdog investigators.
Neither of the agents have been charged over their handling of the case.
John Manly, an attorney for many of Nassar's alleged victims, said Langeman's firing is 'long overdue' but said the timing - just days before the Senate hearing - 'seems cynical'.
Wray and Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz are sworn in Wednesday to give testimony during the second panel of the hearing
Wray sent a message to the survivors saying he will make sure 'everyone at the FBI remembers what happened here in heartbreaking detail' to make sure it is 'never repeated'
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