Senator Schmitt Leads Senate Colleagues, Presses FBI Director Christopher Wray on Agency’s Mishandling of Child Sexual Abuse Cases

WASHINGTON – Recently, Senator Eric Schmitt, joined by 10 other Senate Republican colleagues, penned a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray regarding the recent audit conducted by the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) on the FBI’s handling of child sexual abuse cases:

“At a time of historically low trust in American institutions, the FBI continues to undermine its own credibility when it comes to safeguarding our children from predators who wish to do them harm. It is not only outrageous but unacceptable that the FBI continues to fail the victims of sexual abusers. These victims deserve justice. The FBI has questions to answer and changes to make in the coming days and months,” said Senator Eric Schmitt. 

BACKGROUND:

• The OIG report highlights gross negligence in four critical areas: mandatory reporting of suspected child abuse, victim services, case transfers between field offices, and timely responses to allegations of active child sexual abuse.  
• In 47% of cases reviewed, FBI employees failed to comply with mandatory reporting requirements to state and local law enforcement, and for social services, that figure rose to 50%.  Only 43% of mandatory reports reviewed were made within the required 24-hour period, and a mere 17% of the reports were fully documented.
• Senator Schmitt and colleagues are pressing Director Wray, and the agency respond to the following questions:
  • Is the FBI facing non-monetary, systemic hurdles that hinder its compliance with these mandatory reporting requirements?
  • Please explain why the FBI has failed to implement effective reforms in the aftermath of the Nassar case, despite previous assurances, and what will be done differently to avoid repeating these failures.
  • Please describe specific actions the FBI has taken, or plans to take, in response to the August 2024 OIG audit to address the failures identified in handling child sexual abuse cases.
  • How many FBI personnel have been reassigned from investigations related to child sexual abuse to investigations related to the events of January 6, 2021?
  • Please describe what mechanisms are in place to ensure compliance with mandatory reporting requirements, and why there has been such widespread non-compliance, particularly in nearly 50% of the reviewed cases.
  • Please explain the reasons for the failure in 73% of cases to verify receipt or establish verbal contact when transferring allegations between FBI field offices, as required by FBI policy.
  • Please state if any specific disciplinary actions have been taken against FBI personnel who have failed to comply with internal policies regarding child sexual abuse cases. Information responsive to this request should protect personally identifiable information and include answers to the following questions:
    • How many FBI personnel have repeatedly failed to follow internal policies?
    • What disciplinary actions were taken against each employee who failed, once or more than once, to follow internal policies?
    • How many employees have been placed on administrative leave resulting from their failure or failures to follow internal policies?
    • How many employees have been either fired or allowed to resign resulting from their failure or failures to follow internal policies? In the case of those allowed to resign, please provide a brief narrative of the actions or inactions taken necessitating their separation from the FBI.

Read the full letter here.