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.”
