Child sexual abuse is a major problem in Indian Country, yet federal government data suggests hundreds of cases may be falling through the cracks. A Howard Center for Investigative Journalism analysis of Justice Department data showed that the FBI has “closed administratively” more than 1,900 criminal investigations of child sexual abuse in Indian Country since 2011. Such cases are not referred to federal prosecutors because, the FBI says, they fail to meet evidentiary or statutory requirements. But child sex abuse investigations accounted for about 30% of all major crimes on reservations closed by the FBI each year — more than any other type of crime, including murders and assaults, the analysis showed. In terms of prosecutions, Justice Department case management data, analyzed by the Howard Center, revealed that U.S. attorneys pursued charges less than half the time in child sexual abuse cases from Indian Country — about one-third less often than they filed charges in other crimes. Only a small percentage of child sexual abuse defendants from Indian Country went to trial. Most cases settled with plea agreements, which typically involve lesser sentences.
