The Federal Bureau of Investigation has continued to mishandle allegations of child sexual abuse, despite reforms implemented following the agency's flawed handling of assault allegations against former USA Olympics gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar, according to a report released by the Justice Department's Inspector General on Thursday (August 29).
The report, compiled by IG Michael Horowitz, found that the FBI failed to act appropriately on multiple allegations of child sexual abuse, even after the agency updated its policies and training in response to the Nassar case. The IG's office reviewed 327 of nearly 4,000 child sexual abuse cases opened by the FBI between October 2021 and February 2023 and found 42 cases that required immediate attention.
The report highlighted a range of concerns, including a lack of recent investigative activity or referrals to appropriate agencies, leads that were not properly followed up on, and clear violations of FBI policy regarding the handling of sexual abuse claims. In one case, the FBI failed to follow up on an allegation involving abuse against a minor by a registered sex offender, leading to the offender victimizing at least one additional minor for approximately 15 months.
The IG's report also found significant issues with the FBI's obligation to report allegations of child sexual abuse to various entities immediately after they are received. In 47% of incidents reviewed, there was no evidence that FBI employees complied with mandatory reporting requirements to state and local law enforcement agencies. In 50% of cases, there was no evidence that allegations were reported to social services agencies.
The FBI has acknowledged the issues raised in the report and stated that they "recognize further action is necessary to ensure our corrective measures have the full intended effect of improving the FBI's handling of allegations of hands-on sex offenses." However, the bureau also argued that most of the incidents flagged by the IG's office appeared to reflect failures in documentation rather than clear failures in proper investigative actions being taken.
The report is expected to draw further criticism of the FBI and its director, Christopher Wray, who previously issued a personal apology to the gymnasts abused by Nassar. Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin has stated that he will call for Wray to testify on the report's findings in an oversight hearing later this year.