A troubling report authored by the Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz reveals a staggering lack of action by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) when addressing hands-on sex offenses against children. The Inspector General—which acts as a watchdog over DOJ operations—found “significant issues with the FBI’s response to serious allegations involving suspected child abuse: under the Biden–Harris government.
“[O]ur audit revealed instances where FBI employees did not comply with relevant law or policy for (a) mandatory reporting of suspected child abuse, (b) victim services, (c) transferring incidents between field offices, and (d) responding to allegations of active and ongoing child sexual abuse within 24 hours,” Horowitz’s report states. The Inspector General adds: ” In addition, during the course of our work, we forwarded 42 incidents, 13 percent of the incidents we reviewed, to FBI headquarters because of concerns that led us to believe that the incident may require immediate attention.”
The Inspector General contends FBI employees have repeatedly failed to comply with mandatory reporting requirements. In almost half of the incidents investigated by Horowitz’s office, suspicions or evidence of child abuse were not reported to state or local law enforcement or social services.
Concerningly, the Inspector General accuses the FBI of failing to adopt or comply with new reporting standards regarding tip lines following its failures in the Larry Nassar investigation. Nassar served as the team doctor from 1996 to 2014 for the United States women’s national gymnastics team and was involved in what many consider to be the largest child sexual abuse scandal in sports history. It is believed Nassar sexually abused and assaulted over 265 young girls over nearly two decades.
