The Justice Department’s internal watchdog discovered ongoing deficiencies in the FBI’s management of reports concerning child sexual abuse, despite a sequence of reforms implemented in response to the mishandling of the Larry Nassar scandal.
Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s team scrutinized 327 cases from October 2021 to late February 2023 and uncovered no proof that FBI staff adhered to compulsory reporting obligations to local or state law enforcement in nearly half of the cases.
“It’s critically important that the FBI appropriately handle all allegations of hands-on sex offenses against children,” Horowitz said. “Because failure to do so can result in children continuing to be abused and perpetrators abusing more children.”
In one of the cases reviewed during the audit, the inspector general’s office discovered that a registered sex offender allegedly victimized a minor for a 15-month period after the FBI initially became aware of the abuse allegations.
In response to the audit findings, the FBI acknowledged in a letter to the IG that it takes the “significant compliance issues” outlined in the report seriously and is committed to “urgently addressing them.”
This recent investigation follows the inspector general’s scrutiny of how the FBI handled sexual abuse allegations against Larry Nassar, the longtime USA Gymnastics doctor who perpetrated sexual abuse against gymnasts, including members of the U.S. women’s national team, for an extended period.
In response, the FBI did not take significant action on reports of Nassar’s abuse of young gymnasts and neglected to disseminate information to other FBI branches or local authorities.
Following the Nassar scandal, FBI Director Christopher Wray admitted that the bureau had failed to safeguard the victims.
“It never should have happened, and we’re doing everything in our power to make sure it never happens again,” he told Congress at the time.
Simultaneously, the FBI initiated alterations to its procedures for documenting and reviewing cases of child sexual abuse, aiming to expedite the handling of complaints.
However, the latest inspector general report emphasizes that the FBI continues to have deficiencies in various aspects, such as reporting suspected child abuse to other law enforcement agencies and sharing tips with other FBI field offices.
In a statement, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Dick Durbin (Ill.), said “it’s shameful that the FBI is continuing to fail victims.”
“Today’s report shows that new policies implemented by the FBI to address these egregious failures are effectively being ignored, leading to similar abuses as seen in the Nassar investigation,” he said.
FBI personnel must report any suspected cases of child abuse to state, local, and tribal law enforcement and social services.
However, a review by the inspector general revealed that in 47% of the cases, there was “no evidence” that FBI employees followed this mandatory reporting rule.
Furthermore, only 43% of the filed reports were made within the required 24-hour timeframe as per FBI policy.
The inspector general also identified deficiencies in the FBI’s adherence to its new tips management system, including a policy mandating verbal contact and confirmed receipt when transferring abuse complaints or cases between FBI field offices.
The report revealed that the FBI failed to properly record and handle all allegations in its new system, with 73% of cases or allegations transferred between field offices lacking evidence of the required verbal contact or confirmed receipt as per FBI policy.
Durbin, the chair of the Judiciary Committee, announced plans to conduct a hearing on this issue later this year.
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