FBI mishandling of child sexual abuse claims persisted in wake of Larry Nassar probe, watchdog finds

The FBI continued to mishandle tips regarding sexual abuse against children even after the agency promised reforms in the wake of its botched handling of assault allegations against former USA Olympics gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar, according to a Justice Department watchdog report released Thursday.

DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s findings were a result of an extensive audit undertaken in the 16 months after his office released its scathing 2021 report that detailed the FBI’s failures in acting on multiple credible abuse claims against Nassar by athletes under his care. While the report details how the FBI updated its policies and training to handle such tips in the wake of the Nassar report, it found multiple instances where bureau employees failed to properly act on the allegations.

Of nearly 4,000 child sexual abuse cases opened by the FBI between October 2021 and February 2023, the IG’s office reviewed 327 and found 42 cases where investigators had to flag it to the FBI for their “immediate attention,” according to the report.

For those 13% of the cases audited by the IG, the report said, investigators had concerns that varied from a lack of recent investigative activity or referrals to appropriate agencies, leads that were not properly followed up on and, in some instances, clear violations of FBI policy regarding handling sexual abuse claims.

In one specific instance identified in the report, FBI agents failed to follow up on an allegation involving abuse against a minor by a registered sex offender, which led to the offender victimizing at least one additional minor “for a period of approximately 15 months,” the report said.

“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 in a taped video statement.

The report further found significant issues regarding FBI agents’ obligation to report allegations of sexual abuse against children to various entities immediately after they are received.

In 47% of incidents reviewed by the IG, they found no evidence that FBI employees complied with mandatory reporting requirements to state and local law enforcement agencies, and in 50% of cases, they found no evidence that they reported the allegations to social services agencies, according to the report.

“Additionally, we found that FBI employees didn’t always comply with FBI policies put in place to protect victims,” the report said. “For example, in the incidents we reviewed, we found 40 percent of the active child sexual abuse allegations did not include evidence that the FBI responded within 24 hours.”

A central issue identified in the IG report was a surge in recent years of claims of child sexual abuse that have caused a strain on FBI resources.

One agent who spoke to the IG said they had been assigned approximately 60 such cases and that the risk of them “falling through the cracks” was in large part due to high agent workloads. But, according to the IG, FBI Headquarters denied requests from all but one of 15 field offices that requested an increase in the number of special agents dedicated to investigating child abuse threats in 2022, and further denied requests from seven of those field offices when they again appealed for help.

In a letter responding to the report released Thursday, the FBI said 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.”

But 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.

“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 FBI said in a statement. “The FBI’s efforts combating crimes against children are among the most critical and demanding undertakings we do. The FBI deeply values the trust the public places in us to protect the most vulnerable members of society. We 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 have the intended effect of promoting the highest level of compliance and effectiveness.”

Crimes against children are among the top priorities for the FBI, but the bureau continues to be challenged by an increasing number of sexual abuse tips and has previously failed to take necessary investigative measures, an FBI official acknowledged to reporters on Thursday.

“It’s staggering,” the official said, referring to the growing number of reports as an “overwhelming situation.”

“Any mistake or deficiency is unacceptable and the FBI recognizes that,” the official said.

Thursday’s report is likely to draw further criticism of the bureau and FBI Director Christopher Wray, who in the wake of the Nassar report issued a personal apology to the gymnasts abused by Nassar.

“I am sorry that so many people let you down over and over again and I am especially sorry that there were people at the FBI who had their own chance to stop this monster back in 2015 and failed, and that is inexcusable,” Wray said in September 2021 congressional testimony. “It never should have happened, and we are doing everything in our power to make sure it never happens again.”

Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin said in a statement Thursday that he would call for Wray to testify on the report’s findings in an oversight hearing later this year.

“The FBI’s failures enabling Larry Nassar’s abuse of young victims continue to remain a stain on the Bureau,” Durbin said. “Today’s report shows that new policies implemented by the FBI to address these egregious failures are effectively being ignored, leading to similar abuses as seen in the Nassar investigation. It’s shameful that the FBI is continuing to fail victims.”