Lawyers for more than 90 female athletes who were sexually abused by former gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar have filed lawsuits seeking nearly $1 billion in damages from the FBI.

Nassar, 58, is serving a 60-year sentence in a federal prison on child pornography charges, and was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in Michigan after pleading guilty to seven counts of criminal sexual conduct.

These heavy sentences came after it was proven that he sexually exploited more than 300 female players, most of whom were minors, during the period from 1996 to 2014.

Nassar's victims were players and stars of the US gymnastics team, as he worked in the union as a doctor for the women's team, in addition to other victims at the University of Michigan and a private gymnastics club in which he also worked.

World champions are the most prominent victims of Nassar

Among the most prominent victims of Nassar, among the stars who revealed that they had been sexually exploited: Simone Biles, who was crying, as she recounted what happened to her during a Senate hearing last September, as well as Gabriel Douglas, Alexandra Rose and Aly Raisman.

The lawyers said FBI investigators could have ended Nassar's crimes and protected the other victims had they not mishandled the case.

Among the most prominent claimants for damages are world gymnastics champions: Biles, Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney, who are seeking compensation of $50 million each, according to the law firm representing them.

Most of the 90 women are asking for $10 million each, lawyers say;

Two of them requested $42 million each, bringing the total amount of compensation requested to $1.2 billion.

And CNN, the American television network, said - via its website - that it had contacted the US Department of Justice, which oversees the FBI, but officials refused to comment.

He added that under federal law, a claim for damages must first be submitted to the federal agency to try to reach a settlement, and after 6 months, the claimants are entitled to file a lawsuit in federal court.

Neglecting Nassar assault complaints

Lawyers say that in July 2015 the FBI received credible complaints from numerous substantiated sources of Dr. Larry Nassar's sexual abuse of young women and children over the years and around the world, but neglected to interview victims or properly investigate the abuse.

Victims' lawyers note that FBI investigators were in a position to end Nassar's assaults, but "blatantly neglected their duties", resulting in Nassar sexually assaulting 90 girls and boys between July 28, 2015 and September 12, 2016.

Former gymnastics champion Maggie Nichols, citing an official statement issued by the law firm "Manley, Stewart, and Vinaldi", says that the FBI knew that Larry Nassar was a danger to children when she reported the first assault of which she was a victim in September 2015. .

Nichols accused the FBI agents of "working with the Gymnastics Federation and the US Olympic Committee for 421 days to conceal this information, which allowed Nassar to continue to assault the girls."

Settlement of $380 million

In mid-December, the US Gymnastics Association and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee reached a settlement with the US women's gymnastics team, who were victims of harassment and sexual exploitation from Larry Nassar, who was imprisoned for life, to end a five-year legal dispute. They paid $380 million in compensation to the victims of the former national team doctor.

The victims of the national team players held the US Gymnastics Association responsible for failing to protect them from the team doctor, and even filed a lawsuit against the federation, and they also held the US Olympic Committee and the Federal Police responsible.