'We have been failed,' Olympic champion Simone Biles says in emotional testimony on sex abuse
CBC
Olympic gold medallists Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney and Aly Raisman blasted USA Gymnastics and the FBI in blunt and tearful testimony on Wednesday for standing by while Larry Nassar abused them and hundreds of other athletes.
"We have been failed and we deserve answers," Biles told the Senate judiciary committee, where she also appeared with Maggie Nichols, a former Olympic hopeful who was one of the first to report Nassar's abuse.
"It really feels like the FBI turned a blind eye to us."
Maroney branded Nassar "more of a pedophile than a doctor," and in forceful terms assailed the FBI for failing to follow up on answers she gave them, describing in detail on Wednesday both Nassar's abuse and how he attempted to buy her silence by showering her with gifts. The USA Gymnastics team doctor even committed abuse in London while she was competing in the 2012 Summer Games, she said.
The hearing comes after the Justice Department's Inspector General Michael Horowitz issued a scathing report in July that blasted the FBI for botching its investigation, which allowed the abuse to continue for months.
FBI Director Christopher Wray said he was left "heartsick and furious" by the report, and he apologized to each of the victims on behalf of the entire agency.
"I'm sorry so many different people let you down over and over again, and I'm especially sorry that there were people at the FBI who had their own chance to stop this monster back in 2015 and failed," said Wray.
