Sexual misconduct shakes FBI’S senior ranks
AP: All avoided discipline; several left with benefits
Washington An assistant FBI director retired after he was accused of drunkenly groping a female subordinate in a stairwell. Another senior FBI official left after he was found to have sexually harassed eight employees. Yet another high-ranking FBI agent retired after he was accused of blackmailing a young employee into sexual encounters.
An Associated Press investigation has identified at least six sexual misconduct allegations involving senior FBI officials over the past five years, including two new claims brought this week by women who say they were sexually assaulted by ranking agents.
Each of the accused FBI officials appears to have avoided discipline, the AP found, and several were quietly transferred or retired, keeping their full pensions and benefits even when probes substantiated the sexual misconduct claims.
Beyond that, federal law enforcement officials are afforded anonymity even after the disciplinary process runs its course, allowing them to land on their feet in the private sector or remain in law enforcement.
The AP’S count does not include the growing number of high-level FBI supervisors who failed to report romantic relationships with subordinates in recent years — a pattern that has alarmed investigators with the Office of Inspector General and raised questions about bureau policy.
The recurring sexual misconduct has drawn the attention of Congress and advocacy groups, which have called for whistleblower protections for rank-and-file FBI employees and for an outside entity to review the bureau’s disciplinary cases.
In a statement, the FBI said it “maintains a zerotolerance policy toward sexual harassment” and that claims against supervisors have resulted in them being removed from their positions while cases are investigated and adjudicated.
It added that severe cases can result in criminal charges.
The AP review of court records, Office of Inspector General reports and interviews with federal law enforcement officials identified at least six allegations against senior officials, including an assistant director and special agents in charge of entire field offices, ranging from unwanted touching and sexual advances to coercion.
None appear to have been disciplined, but another sexual misconduct allegation identified in the AP review of a rank-andfile agent resulted in him losing his security clearance.
Earlier this year, the Inspector General found that the special agent in charge of the Albany, New York, office, James N. Hendricks, sexually harassed eight subordinates at the FBI.
Hendricks also was not named in the OIG report despite its findings. He was first identified in September by the Times Union. One current and one former colleague of Hendricks confirmed his role in the case to AP.
Hendricks now writes a law enforcement blog in which he touts his FBI accolades but makes no mention of the allegations. He did not respond to requests for comment.