a new one investigation from Washington post It has been revealed that nearly 1,800 police officers have been charged with offenses related to child sexual abuse over the past two decades. To make matters worse, nearly 40% of those convicted manage to escape jail.
The investigation revealed a severe lack of accountability for officers who sexually abused minors, not only finding that convicted officers often received minimal sentences but that police departments sometimes rehired officers with child sex abuse convictions.
this postalThe analysis looked at thousands of court documents, as well as the Henry A. Wallace Police Crime Database, the county’s most comprehensive database of police arrests. The authors found that about 17,700 police officers were charged with crimes between 2005 and 2022, with one in 10 charged with crimes involving the sexual abuse of minors.
Criminal officers are charged with a variety of crimes, but most charges relate to a specific offence. according to postalThe analysis showed that 39 per cent of police officers accused of child sexual abuse were accused of rape. Twenty per cent were charged with offenses related to child sexual abuse material (another term for child pornography) and 19 per cent were charged with forcible fondling.
Eighty-three percent of the officers charged were convicted. However, only 61% of convicted police officers were sentenced to prison. 15% were sentenced to local imprisonment, while a staggering 24% were sentenced to lighter sentences such as suspended sentences, fines and community service.
But even those who were imprisoned received relatively light sentences. Half were sentenced to less than five years in prison.
Why do so many police officers seem to get away with committing heinous sex crimes so easily? according to postalit depends on how prosecutors and judges treat police officers.
“Prosecutors have broad discretion in the types of charges they bring, the plea bargains they offer and the cases they are willing to go to trial,” postalwrote the analysis. “Judges play a key role in sentencing hearings to determine the punishment an officer deserves.”
The police department also bears a large responsibility.
“Departments employ officers who have been accused of, or are sometimes convicted of, child abuse, domestic violence and other serious crimes,” the report reads. postalinvestigation. “In some cases, officers who were fired for their conduct appealed their firings through police union protections, won their jobs back, and were then convicted of child abuse.”
The analysis shows how common police sexual abuse is and how many barriers are erected to prevent convicted officers from being appropriately punished for their crimes.
“This is happening in communities across the country, but people aren’t paying attention,” Phillip Stinson, a former police officer and professor of criminal justice at Bowling Green State University, told The New York Times. postal. “Then the police chief sticks to the bad apple theory, saying, ‘There’s nothing to see here, and when we fire them, we fix the problem.'”
