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On Wednesday (September 15), Simon Beals testifies that the sexual violence she suffered from a former doctor from the US gymnastics team Larry Nasar directly affected her mental health at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, during which she unexpectedly withdrew from several events.
Beals was joined by other members of Team USA Gymnastics as they spoke to the Senate Judicial Committee about what they saw as the FBI’s failed investigation into Nasar’s actions. The award-winning Olympian also said current and former FBI agents should be held accountable for their mismanagement of the bureau’s investigation, ESPN reported.
“There really is a feeling that the FBI is closing our eyes,” Beals said as he tried to hold back tears during his testimony, adding that agents should be prosecuted. Many senators have also questioned why the Justice Department has not filed criminal charges against the agents.
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In the summer of 2015, FBI agents failed to respond with “seriousness and urgency” after being informed of Nasar’s violence, according to a recent report released by the Justice Department’s chief inspector. The report also found that the agents manipulated evidence and later made false statements to investigators in an attempt to cover up.
Biles was joined by a fellow Olympian Ali Reismanas well as a former Olympic medalist McCale Maroni and former world champion and NCAA Maggie Nichols, who initially brought Nasar’s behavior to the attention of USAG staff in June 2015.
The four gymnasts say they were sexually assaulted by Nasar during their stay with the national team. They were joined on Wednesday by the inspector general of the Ministry of Justice Michael Horowitz and director of the FBI Christopher Raywho also testified on Wednesday.
“I’m deeply and deeply sorry,” Paradise told gymnasts during her testimony, according to ESPN. “I am especially sorry that there were people in the FBI who had their own chance to stop this monster in 2015 and failed. This should never have happened. And we are doing everything we can to make sure that it will never happen again. “
Nasser was convicted after pleading guilty to seven counts of criminal sexual conduct in Ingham County, Michigan, where he was a team gymnast at Michigan State University, and where he was charged with sexual assault by several members of that team. He was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison.
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