WASHINGTON — Three years after the Justice Department's internal watchdog slammed the FBI for its failures in the case of convicted sexual abuser and former U.S. gymnastic team doctor Larry Nassar, an audit released Thursday finds that the bureau is still failing to protect children who have been sexually abused.
The new report by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz reviewed a sample of 327 cases and found 42 that were so deficient that auditors felt compelled to contact the FBI and urge immediate attention.
In one case, the audit found that a child continued to be sexually abused for 15 months — and another child victim was abused by the same person — while the FBI failed to investigate the case. The IG reported on a separate FBI review that found another such example in which a 2-year-old was being abused for 21 months while the FBI sat on the case and failed to take investigative steps. These cases mirror what happened in the Nassar case, even though FBI Director Christopher Wray assured Congress and the public this would never happen again.
In 47% of the cases examined, the Justice Department watchdog found no evidence that the FBI complied with the mandatory reporting requirements to alert state or local authorities about an allegation of child sexual abuse. In 43% of the cases, the audit found, it wasn’t just a lack of documentation in the file — the FBI needed to take additional investigative steps that should have initially taken place.
In the Nassar case, the report found that an additional 70 gymnasts said they were abused by him during a year of inaction while the FBI failed to investigate allegations brought to agents.
In response, the FBI suggested this was mainly a case of failing to properly document files, something the report rebuts by saying that 43% of the problem cases required more FBI action, not just paperwork.
A senior FBI official mentioned budget cuts as one reason this mission is particularly difficult and said they take any compliance issues very seriously. The official said there are a small minority of cases in which a lack of action from the FBI resulted in harm to children, and that in no case was that acceptable to the FBI.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., blasted the FBI in a statement, saying the FBI’s "failures enabling Larry Nassar’s abuse of young victims continue to remain a stain on the Bureau."
"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," Durbin said.
In a statement, the bureau said that 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 bureau’s statement said the FBI is “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.”
John Manly, an attorney who represented hundreds of Nassar's accusers including Simone Biles and Aly Raisman, said the new report shows that Congress needs to take action to make changes within the FBI.
"This report makes clear that the FBI is simply not doing its job when it comes to protecting our children from the monsters among us who stalk them," Manly said. "Despite years of promises and numerous congressional hearings it’s now clear that Larry Nassar could happen again today. It’s time for Congress to take action to reform the FBI. Our children deserve nothing less."
