Simone Biles and other women seek $1bn from FBI over botching of Larry Nassar abuse investigation

Under federal law, a government agency has six months to respond to the tort claims filed on Wednesday. Lawsuits could follow, depending on the FBI’s response

United States Olympic gymnast Simone Biles testifies during a Senate Judiciary hearing last September about the Inspector General's report on the FBI's handling of the Larry Nassar investigation. File Picture: Saul Loeb/Pool via AP

Olympic gold medallist Simone Biles and dozens of other women who say they were sexually assaulted by Larry Nassar are seeking more than one billion US dollars from the FBI for failing to stop the sports doctor when the agency first received allegations against him, lawyers have said.

There is no dispute that FBI agents in 2015 knew that Nassar was accused of assaulting gymnasts, but they failed to act, leaving him free to continue to target young women and girls for more than a year. He pleaded guilty in 2017 and is serving decades in prison.