It has been five years since Marisa Kwiatkowski helped break the story on USA Gymnastics and the sexual abuse being carried out by its team doctor Larry Nassar. Today several athletes, including Simone Biles, spoke at a Congressional hearing.
Gut-wrenching testimonies given by four gymnasts discussed how the Federal Bureau of Investigation turned a blind eye when gymnasts came to them and said what was happening.
Kwiatkowski, who worked for the Indianapolis Star, was one of three journalists who wrote the story about Nassar, and on Wednesday, she spoke with News Talk 830 WCCO's Chad Hartman about her reaction to the hearing.
After hearing what was shared today, Kwiatkowski thinks that frustration remains as many questions are still unanswered.
"We heard people speak today during the hearings, but speaking for the work that my colleagues and I have done, I did not hear anything new that I had not heard before," she said. "I think that's part of where that frustration that survivors have comes from.
"They have been asking some of the same questions for a long, long time and have not gotten answers to those questions."
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USA Gymnastics received the first allegations of sexual harassment against Nassar in 2015, according to Kwiatkowski. However, when they were told what was happening, it was not reported to law enforcement as it conducted its own investigation first. That information was then turned over to the FBI.
"Those allegations were not properly handled according to the information that has come out," she said. "They were essentially, as Mckayla [Maroney] said today, they were put in a draw."
Almost a year and a half after the first allegations were given and investigations were underway, Nassar was still in his position and running for a local school board position.
"He was a well-known figure," she said. "It wasn't until after our report came out that ultimately he started to see some form of justice."
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When it comes to the FBI ignoring the original allegations, Kwiatkowski thinks a lot of the tension is directed towards the actions of individuals in the bureau's Indianapolis office. This was the original FBI office that received the allegations.
One of the agents had been fired, but the head of the office, at the time, was in talks for a job with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic committee while he was receiving the allegations against Nassar, Kwiatkowski said.
Kwiatkowski went on to share that it's important to note this is not the only FBI office to receive allegations. In fact, the Inspector General found four other offices received and did not appropriately act on the claims of Nassar's sexual assault and harassment, she said.
"There are still questions about exactly what was going on behind the scenes," she said. "That's something that survivors have been asking about, and others have been asking about for some time."
Something that still frustrates Kwiatkowski and others is that there have been no prosecutions for those who didn't investigate the allegations.
"Why weren't these individuals who were found to have committed wrongdoing prosecuted for some of the things that were done," Kwiatkowski said.
