FBI Falls Short in Child Sex-Abuse Probes, Watchdog Says

Report says bureau continues to make serious errors even after bungling gymnastics team investigation

By Sadie Gurman and Louise Radnofsky of The WSJ. Excerpts:

"The FBI promised sweeping reforms after agents disregarded concerns that Larry Nassar had sexually assaulted star gymnasts. An internal watchdog on Thursday said the bureau continues to make the same kinds of serious errors in child sex-abuse cases, with law-enforcement inaction exposing minors to prolonged abuse.

Agents were slow to respond to reports that children were being assaulted, failed to follow up on important leads and neglected to tell other agencies about such tips as required by law, Inspector General Michael Horowitz said. 

In one case, the Federal Bureau of Investigation opened a probe into a registered sex offender but failed to take further action for more than a year, during which time the man allegedly abused another child for 15 months."

"Nassar, the team doctor, continued to see patients in Michigan for almost 14 months after USA Gymnastics went to the FBI."

"The inspector general said the FBI is still making similar mistakes, including failing to share information on tips with other field offices, not telling state and local counterparts who could investigate further and neglecting to offer resources to victims"

"Teams responsible for handling child sex-crimes investigations were understaffed and overwhelmed with high caseloads"

"The Justice Department’s inspector general in 2021 detailed multiple flaws in the FBI’s response in the Nassar case. Indianapolis agents who received the initial report from USA Gymnastics on July 28, 2015, didn’t take the claims seriously, document the evidence or transfer the allegations to the FBI’s resident agency in Lansing, Mich., and later made false statements to cover their mistakes"

"The agent who conducted the interview [with gymnast McKayla Maroney in early September 2015] didn’t document it until February 2017"

"The agent then recorded statements that Maroney says she didn’t make, and has never made."

"“They made entirely false claims about what I said,” Maroney told senators in September 2021"

" in many instances agents had failed to document investigative steps they had actually taken"

" agents failed to quickly respond to and investigate a tip to the FBI’s threat hotline about sex trafficking of minors that investigators determined involved a felon. The FBI didn’t report the matter to social services until more than a year after receiving the tip"