Nassar, who is being held at a high-security prison in central Florida, is serving the equivalent of a life sentence on the state and federal charges, which together make up one of the most egregious serial sex-abuse cases in recent memory. His victims say law enforcement and USA Gymnastics officials ignored the problem for years, allowing horrible abuse to continue.
Opinion: A former gymnast on the FBI’s failure to investigate Larry Nassar
The prison-spending figures in the court filing indicate that Nassar is paying the bare minimum required by the Bureau of Prisons’s “inmate financial responsibility” program to maintain prison privileges, such as being able to use email and make phone calls. At this rate, he would ultimately pay only about $500 of the $5,300 he owes because under federal rules, special-assessment debt is canceled after five years.
“The inaction of BOP inmate financial responsibility program officials is outrageous,” Wojdylo said. “This sexual predator’s young victims had an opportunity to receive some financial reparation over the past 3½ years. Instead, BOP has enabled a nominal $25 contribution every three months toward his debt, while he presumably spent thousands of dollars on snacks and other privileges.”
The Bureau of Prisons did not immediately reply to a request for comment; nor did an attorney representing Nassar.
Nassar is hardly alone in keeping money in his prison account. Nearly two dozen federal inmates have more than $100,000 each in their Bureau of Prison accounts, and all prisoner accounts totaled more than $100 million in May, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal data.
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) said in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday that the details of Nassar’s spending “give the appearance that the Department of Justice places greater importance on Nassar’s comfort than on collecting the debt he owes his victims.”
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The lawmaker urged Garland to “review the policies that facilitate this egregious miscarriage of justice” and “implement corrective action as quickly as possible.”
Some law enforcement officials at other federal agencies say the bureau should review those funds and seize money that inmates have been ordered to pay. The Bureau of Prisons counters that Treasury Department screening rules that apply to banks don’t apply to their prisoner accounts because the agency is not a financial institution.
The bureau, already plagued with staffing and management problems, has defended its prisoner account system and said it “encourages” inmates to pay what they owe.
Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, called the latest Nassar revelations “sickening” and accused the Bureau of Prisons of stonewalling his committee’s demands for answers.
Biles, citing her mental health, withdraws from women’s all-around final
Wednesday’s court filing marks the second time this month that a federal agency has been accused of failing Nassar’s victims.
[A scathing report released July 14](
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...c37274-e4c4-11eb-8aa5-5662858b696e_story.html?
itid=lk_inline_manual_41) from the Justice Department inspector general found that FBI agents failed to properly investigate allegations that Nassar was sexually abusing girls and women under the guise of medical treatments, apparently allowing dozens more people to be victimized. When confronted, the FBI officials lied rather than admit what they had done, the inspector general found.
