Three years after the Justice Department’s inspector general called out the FBI’s handling of sexual abuse allegations against former USA Gymnastics physician Larry Nassar, the department watchdog says the bureau is still falling short in its handling of investigations into sex offenses against children.
A new IG report, issued Thursday, criticized several aspects of the FBI’s work on such matters, saying that the bureau “needs to improve compliance with policies and laws in multiple areas including mandatory reporting, victim services, transfers between field offices, and responding to allegations of active child sexual abuse.”
One of the jarring aspects highlighted in the report involves the FBI’s failure to take immediate action after receiving a tip:
In one example, the FBI received an allegation involving hands-on abuse by a registered sex offender and opened a predicated investigation. However, the FBI did not take appropriate investigative action for over 1 year or refer the suspected child abuse to the state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) law enforcement agency with jurisdiction. During this period, the subject allegedly victimized at least one additional minor for a period of approximately 15 months. After we raised this incident to the FBI’s attention, the FBI took appropriate action, and the subject was indicted on federal charges.
While it’s a good thing that action was eventually taken, this latest report suggests that not only stronger compliance but continued oversight of the bureau is needed.
The FBI said in a statement:
Ensuring the safety and security of children is not just a priority for the FBI; it is a solemn duty that we are committed to fulfilling with the highest standards. The FBI’s efforts combating crimes against children are among the most critical and demanding undertakings we do. The FBI deeply values the trust the public places in us to protect the most vulnerable members of society. We are committed to maintaining the public’s trust by implementing the necessary improvements to ensure the important changes we made to our Violent Crimes Against Children program in 2018 and 2019 have the intended effect of promoting the highest level of compliance and effectiveness.
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