The Justice Department’s internal watchdog has found continued shortfalls in the FBI’s handling of tips about child sexual abuse despite a series of changes put in place following the bureau’s bungled handling of the Larry Nassar scandal.
Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s office examined 327 cases between October 2021 and late February 2023. It says it found no evidence that FBI employees complied with mandatory reporting requirements to local or state law enforcement in nearly half the cases.
“It’s critically important that the FBI appropriately handle all allegations of hands-on sex offenses against children,” Horowitz said. “Because failure to do so can result in children continuing to be abused and perpetrators abusing more children.”