The FBI has faced sustained and bipartisan criticism for its handling of major sexual abuse cases, most notably those involving Larry Nassar and Jeffrey Epstein, where clear warning signs were missed, complaints were mishandled, and opportunities to stop ongoing abuse were squandered. In the Nassar case, the Justice Department’s own inspector general found that FBI agents in the Indianapolis field office failed to properly document victims’ allegations, delayed action for more than a year, and made false statements about their handling of the case—during which time Nassar continued abusing young gymnasts. Survivors later testified that the FBI’s inaction directly enabled further assaults, turning what should have been a law-enforcement intervention into a catastrophic institutional failure marked by negligence, indifference, and self-protection.


Similar patterns have been identified in the Epstein case, where the FBI possessed credible intelligence about Epstein’s sexual exploitation of minors as early as the mid-2000s yet failed to act decisively. Despite evidence of interstate trafficking, multiple victims, and powerful co-conspirators, federal authorities deferred to a deeply flawed Florida investigation that culminated in a secret non-prosecution agreement, effectively neutralizing federal enforcement. Critics argue that the FBI’s passivity, combined with its willingness to accept prosecutorial hand-offs and jurisdictional excuses, allowed Epstein to continue abusing girls for years after he should have been stopped. Together, the Nassar and Epstein cases have become emblematic of a broader critique: that when sexual abuse allegations collide with institutional risk, reputational concerns, or powerful defendants, the FBI has too often failed the very victims it is charged to protect.


to contact me:

bobbycapucci@protonmail.com

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