Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Fbi Child Abuse Investigations topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
DOJ inspector general finds lapses in FBI’s handling of tips alleging hands-on child abuse
Summary
The Justice Department inspector general released a report finding the FBI failed to appropriately respond to many tips alleging hands-on sexual offenses against children, reviewing 327 files, flagging 42 incidents for further review, and issuing 11 recommendations to address delays, failures to report, and gaps in victim services.
Michael Horowitz, the Justice Department’s inspector general, announced a report from the Office of the Inspector General that found substantial lapses in the FBI’s handling of tips alleging hands-on offenses against children.
The report reviewed 327 case files and flagged 42 incidents for further FBI review, Horowitz said. "We completed this review as a follow-up to issues we identified in our July 2021 report on the FBI's handling of allegations against Larry Nassar," he added, noting that while the FBI has implemented training, policy updates, and system changes, gaps remain.
Horowitz described several recurring problems the OIG found. Investigators often failed to take timely investigative steps or maintain recent investigative activity; leads were not always pursued; and investigators sometimes did not refer suspected child abuse to the appropriate state, local, tribal, or territorial agencies. "In 47% of incidents we reviewed, we found no evidence that FBI employees complied with mandatory reporting requirements to state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies," Horowitz said. "And in 50% of the incidents, no evidence of reporting to social service agencies."
He also cited failures to follow victim-protection timelines and deliver services. The OIG found that about 40% of active child-abuse allegations lacked evidence the FBI responded within 24 hours, and that for more than one-third of the victims the review found no evidence they received victim services or case updates.
Horowitz gave a specific example: the FBI opened an investigation into hands-on abuse by a registered offender but did not take appropriate investigative action for over a year; during that interval the subject allegedly victimized at least one additional minor for 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," Horowitz said.
The OIG’s findings led to 11 recommendations aimed at improving how the FBI handles tips alleging offenses against children. Horowitz directed listeners to the OIG website for the full report and recommendations: oig.justice.gov and oversight.gov.
"It's critically important that the FBI appropriately handle all allegations of hands on *** offenses against children because failure to do so can result in children continuing to be abused and perpetrators abusing more children," Horowitz said, summing up the report's public-safety rationale.
The report is available on the Office of the Inspector General’s website; the OIG said it flagged incidents requiring immediate attention and recommended steps the FBI should take to address investigative delays, reporting lapses, and shortfalls in victim services.
