A U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) watchdog issued a critical report this week, examining the FBI’s handling of tips related to “hands-on” sex offenses against children.
Auditors noted that between Oct. 1, 2021, and Feb. 26, 2023, the FBI opened 3,925 cases involving alleged hands-on sex offenses against children, the report said. The term hands-on is used to refer to a sex offense that “includes physical sexual contact,” the report notes.
The OIG audit reviewed a sample of 327 incidents from these cases, uncovering a range of deficiencies that prompted the auditors to flag 42 incidents—13 percent of the sample—for immediate FBI headquarters review.
A significant issue identified was the FBI’s alleged failure to comply with mandatory reporting requirements.
According to the report, 47 percent of the incidents reviewed showed no evidence that FBI employees had reported suspected child abuse to state, local, tribal, or territorial (SLTT) law enforcement, as required by law. Similarly, in 50 percent of the incidents, there was no evidence that social services agencies had been notified.
“All FBI personnel are considered mandatory reporters, meaning that they must report suspected child abuse to the SLTT law enforcement agency and social services agency with jurisdiction to investigate related allegations or protect the allegedly abused individual,” the report states.
The report identifies “substantial non-compliance with these requirements.”
The report also criticizes how quickly the FBI worked when handling active child sexual abuse cases.
Despite policy updates that require the FBI to respond to such allegations within 24 hours, the audit found that 40 percent of the incidents reviewed lacked evidence of a timely response.
Additionally, auditors found that 73 percent of cases transferred between field offices did not have documented verbal contact and confirmed receipt, as mandated by FBI policy.
The report also revealed shortcomings in the FBI’s provision of victim services. In 36 percent of the cases involving eligible victims, there was “no evidence that the victim received appropriate services or updates” involving their cases.
High Caseloads
The report also highlighted concerns about high caseloads among agents in the FBI’s Crimes Against Children and Human Trafficking (CAC/HT) program, as reports of such crimes are increasing.“Multiple FBI officials told us that resources are a significant challenge for the FBI’s CAC/HT program,” the report states. “High caseloads affect an agent’s ability to immediately respond to incoming allegations and ensure investigative case files are regularly updated and adhere to documentation requirements outlined in FBI policy.”
The report describes an instance in which one agent who was assigned approximately 60 CAC/HT investigations told investigators that the biggest cause of cases “falling through the cracks” was high agent workloads.
The OIG also identified instances of significant delays in investigative activity, cases being inappropriately placed on pending inactive status, and failures to refer cases to appropriate agencies.
The OIG officially made 11 recommendations to address these issues, emphasizing the need for the FBI to improve its adherence to policies, particularly regarding mandatory reporting, case transfers, and victim services.
Before the report was released, the FBI “took corrective action on two of our recommendations and ... [has] closed those recommendations,” the agency added.
In response to the report, the FBI told The Epoch Times in an email: “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’s efforts combating crimes against children are among the most critical and demanding undertakings we do. 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.”
