Judge to Nassar: I just signed your death warrant (2018)
01:18 - Source: CNN
CNN —
Disgraced former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, who is currently serving a decades-long sentence in federal prison for sexual abuse, has been delinquent in his payments toward court-ordered criminal penalties, according to a new court filing.
A motion filed Wednesday by the US Justice Department said that since Nassar’s incarceration, he had received deposits into his inmate trust account that reached $12,825, including two stimulus checks totaling $2,000.
As of Wednesday, Nassar had $2,041.57 in his account, according to the motion. It is unclear where the additional money – more than $10,000 – went.
Nassar was sentenced on December 7, 2017, to 60 years in federal prison on child p*rnography charges.
In addition, he was sentenced on January 24, 2018, to up to 175 years in Michigan state prison after pleading guilty to seven counts of criminal sexual conduct. At the sentencing, 156 victims spoke, recounting similar stories of how they went to Nassar to receive treatment for sports injuries only to be sexually assaulted and told it was a form of treatment.
He is currently serving his federal sentence in the US Penitentiary in Sumterville, Florida.
Despite having money in his account, Nassar has only paid $300 toward the more than $62,000 he was ordered to pay, according to the motion. He was ordered to pay $57,488.52 in restitution to five victims in the child p*rnography case, along with an extra $5,000 for a special assessment fee pursuant to the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015, the motion read.
All of Nassar’s payments toward his restitution have been “in the form of the minimum $25.00 quarterly payments based on his participation” in the Inmate Financial Responsibility Program, the motion said.
“In other words, Nassar has paid approximately $8.33 toward his criminal monetary penalties per month,” the motion said.
The motion requests that the court order the Bureau of Prisons to turn over the funds in his account, up to $62,488.52, to be applied to his outstanding restitution and special assessment debt.
Included with the motion was a letter from the US Marshal Service on July 22 to the warden at US Penitentiary Colemen II in Sumterville, requesting that “all outbound financial transactions and withdrawals from his trust account be frozen pending further order of this Court,” the motion reads.
The Bureau of Prisons told CNN that it “is committed to taking all appropriate steps to help ensure that inmates meet their financial obligations, including court-ordered payments to compensate victims. As part of that process, it regularly analyzes and monitors inmate accounts. BOP also partners with other law enforcement agencies and regularly notifies relevant authorities – such as the U.S. Marshals and U.S. Attorneys’ offices – when it identifies funds that are appropriately subject to seizure. BOP took such steps here. As reflected on the public docket, the government has asked the court to order that all funds in an inmate’s account be turned over to satisfy a restitution judgment. The BOP will continue to examine its policies in an effort to do all it can to help ensure that inmates meet their fundamental financial obligations.”
Attorneys who represented many of Nassar’s victims were appalled by the news.
“The notion that anybody in the Justice Department would let this happen is just revolting,” said John Manly, a lawyer for many of Nassar’s victims, including Simone Biles. “The timing of this, with my client being unable to compete because of what happened to her, couldn’t be more upsetting. … They’re allowing the worst child predator in American history to spend thousands of dollars on himself and pay $8 a month to his victims. Something is completely broken and needs to be fixed.”
Alex E. Cunny, one of the attorneys who represents more than 150 of the girls and women who say Nassar sexually assaulted them, told CNN that it was another “shocking revelation” on the part of the Justice Department.
“The idea that Nassar is spending money on himself and not the women he has abused is unacceptable, especially, coming off the heels of the Inspector General’s report on how the FBI handled the initial investigation is another shocking revelation. How many ways will the Justice Department let the victims down?” Cunny said.
A July 14 report from the Justice Department found that FBI officials investigating the allegations of sexual abuse violated the agency’s policies by making false statements and failing to properly document complaints by the accusers, resulting in a delay in the probe into the claims.
The Office of the Inspector General found that senior officials in the FBI Indianapolis Field Office failed to respond to the Nassar allegations with the utmost seriousness and urgency that they deserved and required, made numerous and fundamental errors when they did respond and violated multiple FBI policies when undertaking their investigative activity.
The probe was opened in 2018 to see whether the FBI and its field offices dragged their feet to respond to allegations of sexual assault made by gymnasts and the USA Gymnastics organization in 2015 and 2016.
The FBI acknowledged the gross failures detailed in the report, saying in a statement, “This should not have happened. The FBI will never lose sight of the harm that Nassar’s abuse caused. The actions and inactions of certain FBI employees described in the report are inexcusable and a discredit to this organization.”
CNN’s Evan Perez, Devan Cole and Tierney Sneed contributed to this report.
