The FBI has mishandled a minimum of dozens of child sex crime cases between October 2021 and February 2023, the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) said in an audit report released Thursday.
Following allegations that the FBI failed to conduct an adequate investigation into the crimes of former Team USA women’s gymnastics physician Lawrence Nassar — leading to the DOJ settling with the victims for $138.7 million — the OIG began auditing to see how poorly the bureau was handling child sex abuse complaints.
Out of 3,925 cases opened by the FBI between October 1, 2021, and February 26, 2023, allegedly involving “a hands-on sex offense against a child or similar offense,” the OIG reviewed 327 incidents as part of its audit.
Out of those incidents, 42 — 13 percent — were flagged for further FBI review because the inspectors “believed the incident may require immediate attention.”
“Concerns that led us to flag incidents included a lack of recent investigative activity, lack of logical investigative steps, not reporting suspected child abuse to appropriate agencies, leads that were not appropriately covered, and instances of substantial non-compliance with FBI policies,” the report stated.
One instance uncovered by the audit revealed that a report of a registered sex offender allegedly abusing a child was not acted upon for over a year, leading to the subject allegedly victimizing “at least one additional minor for a period of approximately 15 months.”
The FBI did not take “appropriate action” to indict the suspect until the OIG pointed it out, the report noted.
The audit also found that the bureau did not document and process all allegations in its Guardian computer system, a tips management system for complaints of crimes against children that was put into use in 2018 after the botched Nassar investigation.
Despite “controls” the FBI implemented in 2022 within the Guardian program to ensure that sexual abuse allegations are handled within 24 hours, the OIG found that 40 percent of active allegations in the sample “did not include evidence the FBI responded within 24 hours.”
Another glaring error found by the auditors: a stunning 36 percent of eligible victims in the sample were not offered victim services.
“We found no evidence that they received appropriate services or updates,” a press release from the OIG said.
The FBI responded to the report in a statement to Fox News. “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 statement said.
“The FBI’s efforts combating crimes against children are among the most critical and demanding undertakings we do,” the bureau continued, claiming that they 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” fulfull “the intended effect” of bringing about “the highest level of compliance and effectiveness.”
