A Washington Post investigation revealed that hundreds of law enforcement officers in the U.S. have sexually abused children, and officials in the criminal justice system have largely failed to protect children and punish abusers.

Reporters found "at least 1,800 state and local law enforcement officers who were charged with crimes involving child sexual abuse from 2005 through 2022." The charges included rape, child sexual abuse material, and forcible fondling. These officers work at all levels of law enforcement, including 47 agency heads. Ninety-nine percent were male. Sixty-six percent had worked in law enforcement for more than five years.

The investigation revealed police and sheriff's departments have allowed child sexual abuse to continue by not performing proper background checks, "ignoring red flags," and "mishandling investigations.

Failures in the criminal justice system occurred as well - nearly 40 percent of officers charged were not sentenced to prison. More than 200 of the charged officers primarily or exclusively work in elementary, middle, and high schools.

The investigation revealed that nearly 75 percent of victims were teenagers, and the majority were female.

According to a review of police and court documents, many of the accused befriended and groomed their victims for months and/or "used the threat of arrest or physical harm to make their victims comply."

Jessica Contrera, Jenn Abelson, John D. Harden, Hayden Godfrey, and Nate Jones "Abused by the badge" www.washingtonpost.com (Jun. 12, 2024).

Commentary

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in approximately 90 percent of child sexual abuse cases, the perpetrator was someone known and trusted by the child or the child's family. "About Child Sexual Abuse" www.cdc.gov.

Any position of respect from the community presents a possible risk to children because trust lowers boundaries. This includes government officials, teachers, and law enforcement personnel.

Law enforcement naturally enjoys respect in most communities.  Couple that with ample opportunities to interact with children, especially if providing security for children, like at school, and the opportunities are numerous.

Safe adults who are vigilant should be aware of some of the ways law enforcement personnel may meet their abuse targets:

• On-the-job
  • Speeding tickets, curfew enforcement, finding runaways, truancy, drug enforcement, sexual trafficking and prostitution, domestic abuse or neglect
     
• Youth-focused assignments
  •  School resource officers, Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.), crosswalk duty, Boy Scouts Police Explorers
     
• Community outreach:
  • Fundraisers, restaurants, skating rinks, parks, holiday events