FBI failed to properly investigate some child sexual assault
allegations, DOJ report says
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[August 30, 2024]
By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department's Office of Inspector
General (OIG) said Thursday the FBI failed to properly investigate some
suspected child sexual abuse cases and did not report some allegations
to state or social services agencies.
A July 2021 report by Justice Department Inspector General Michael
Horowitz uncovered widespread and dire errors by the FBI that allowed
onetime USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar to continue to abuse at least
70 more victims before he was finally arrested.
Horowitz said Thursday his office had conducted a new audit of 327 child
sexual assault allegations reported to the FBI between October 2021 and
February 2023 and flagged 42 -- or 13% of incidents reviewed -- to FBI
headquarters because auditors believed that they required "immediate
attention" including some where there was a lack of investigative
activity.
OIG said of those 42 incidents, the FBI said it would take further
action in 43% and add documentation in 40%.
"We identified numerous incidents where the FBI didn't appropriately
respond" to allegations against children, Horowitz said. The OIG made 11
recommendations to the FBI for improvements and the FBI said it agreed
with all of them.
The FBI said in the "handful" of cases where it found a need for
additional investigative steps or reporting to other agencies it worked
to complete those following the OIG referral.

Senate Judiciary Committee Dick Durbin said the panel will hold a
hearing this year on the report. Senator Richard Blumenthal criticized
the "FBI’s ongoing, systematic mishandling of sexual assault and abuse
cases against children. Based on this report’s stunning findings, there
may be hundreds of sexual abuse cases that have been mishandled by the
FBI requiring immediate intervention."
The FBI said in a statement Thursday it is "committed to maintaining the
public's trust by implementing the necessary improvements."
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A view shows the seal of the Federal Bureau of Investigation outside
of the FBI's Cincinnati Field Office, after police closed off
Interstate 71 North after reports of a suspect attempting to attack
the FBI building, in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S., August 11, 2022.
REUTERS/Jeffrey Dean/File Photo

OIG said in one example, the FBI received an allegation of abuse by
a registered sex offender but "didn't take appropriate investigative
action for over a year."
OIG said during that period the suspect "allegedly victimized at
least one additional minor." After OIG raised the incident, the FBI
"took appropriate action and the subject was indicted."
The report raised questions about the FBI's handling of another
incident.
OIG said after the FBI received an allegation a two-year-old was
being sexually abused that there was "no documentation that the FBI
had taken efforts to safeguard the victim" in the 25 months before
an arrest of the child's grandfather was made.
OIG found "substantial noncompliance" with mandatory requirements
that suspected child abuse cases be reported to appropriate state or
social service agencies with FBI employees reporting only about 50%
of required incidents reviewed by OIG.
OIG found 40% of active child sexual abuse allegations did not
include evidence the FBI responded within 24 hours and 36% of
victims did not appear to have received appropriate services or
updates.
The FBI said it is using "mandatory supervisor case file reviews and
technical system enhancements to put checks in place to ensure our
reforms effectively improve the handling of serious allegations of
abuse."
(Reporting by David Shepardson, Editing by Franklin Paul and Nick
Zieminski)
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