Latest / The Epstein Chronicles / Maria Farmer Sues the Federal Government Over Its Handling of Jeffrey Epstein (Part 2) (11/3/26)

Transcript

Maria Farmer Sues the Federal Government Over Its Handling of Jeffrey Epstein (Part 2) (11/3/26) · The Epstein Chronicles

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  Speaker 1: What's up everyone and welcome to another episode of the
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  Speaker 1: Epstein Chronicles. In this episode we're going to dive right
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  Speaker 1: back in to Maria Farmer and her lawsuit filed against
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  Speaker 1: the United States. Parties. Maria is a United States citizen
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  Speaker 1: residing in the United States. The United States of America
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  Speaker 1: is the defendant in this action pursuant to the FTCA.
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  Speaker 1: The defendant's liability arises in from the acts and or
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  Speaker 1: omissions of employees and agents of the FBI and DOJ,
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  Speaker 1: which are both agencies of the defendant along with other agencies.
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  Speaker 1: Defendant control funded, managed, operated, and or owned the relevant
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  Speaker 1: federal agencies at all relevant times. Defendant funded the applicable
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  Speaker 1: federal agencies which were statutorily required to act within their
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  Speaker 1: mandate and authority at all relevant times. It was the defendant,
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  Speaker 1: an appropriate agency's duty to follow up and investigate reports
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  Speaker 1: of sex crimes against children and others, sex trafficking claims,
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  Speaker 1: and CP reports, and to prevent such crimes from occurring
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  Speaker 1: and reoccurring. The FBI and USAO are federal law enforcement
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  Speaker 1: agencies empowered and required by federal law to enforce and
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  Speaker 1: investigate certain alleged United States criminal code violations. The FBI
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  Speaker 1: and USAO are subject to oversight and direction by the
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  Speaker 1: Attorney General, an executive employee of the defendant. Agents, servants,
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  Speaker 1: and employees of the relevant federal agencies are agents, servants,
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  Speaker 1: and employees of the United States. Facts. The statutory and
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  Speaker 1: regulatory framework in 1996 regarding the investigation of child sex
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  Speaker 1: abuse exploitation. As detailed below, at all relevant times, The
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  Speaker 1: FBI had a non-discretionary obligation governed by established law, policy, procedure, rules,
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  Speaker 1: and protocols to investigate and address reports concerning sexual abuse,
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  Speaker 1: child pornography, sex with minors, and sex trafficking to investigate
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  Speaker 1: those who are alleged to have committed such crimes and
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  Speaker 1: to take reasonable steps to prevent them from continuing to
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  Speaker 1: commit those crimes and to protect those victimized by such perpetrators. 1.
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  Speaker 1: The FBI's mission to investigate crimes and protect victims of
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  Speaker 1: violent crimes. The FBI was established to maintain law and
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  Speaker 1: public order in the United States. Its mission is to
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  Speaker 1: protect the American people and uphold the Constitution of the
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  Speaker 1: United States and maintain its motto of fidelity, bravery, integrity.
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  Speaker 1: The FBI encourages people to report crimes. According to the FBI,
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  Speaker 1: all tips of suspected criminal activity must all be taken
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  Speaker 1: seriously and and thoroughly evaluated. Federal regulation requires the FBI
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  Speaker 1: to investigate law violations involving the defendant. The Director of
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  Speaker 1: the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall investigate violations of law
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  Speaker 1: of the United States and collect evidence in cases in
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  Speaker 1: which the United States is or may be a party
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  Speaker 1: of interest. CFR 28.0.85 Federal law in which the United
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  Speaker 1: States may be a party in interest include the Interstate
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  Speaker 1: Transportation Act of obscene matter, and the sexual exploitation of children.
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  Speaker 1: Consistent with this requirement, the FBI's Manual for Investigative Operations
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  Speaker 1: and Guidelines, applicable in 96, charged the FBI with investigative responsibilities,
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  Speaker 1: including investigating violations and collecting evidence regarding such violations of
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  Speaker 1: federal law. The FBI is charged with duty of investigating
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  Speaker 1: violations of the laws of the United States and collecting
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  Speaker 1: evidence in cases in which the United States is or
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  Speaker 1: may be a party of interest. Investigations are conducted when
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  Speaker 1: information is received indicating a violation of federal law over
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  Speaker 1: which we have been given investigative jurisdiction has or may
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  Speaker 1: have occurred. MIOG 1, 2, and 3. The function of
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  Speaker 1: a special agent of the FBI is to conduct a
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  Speaker 1: thorough investigation of cases in legal and ethical manner and
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  Speaker 1: to carry each of those cases through to a logical conclusion.
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  Speaker 1: The Attorney General's Guidelines on General Crime, included in the MIOG,
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  Speaker 1: establishes the FBI as the primary criminal investigative agency of
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  Speaker 1: the federal government. That plays a central role in national
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  Speaker 1: law enforcement and in the proper administration of justice in
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  Speaker 1: the United States. Investigations by the FBI are premised upon
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  Speaker 1: the important duty of government to protect the public against
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  Speaker 1: general crimes. or who would destroy our constitutional system through
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  Speaker 1: criminal violence. All investigations of crimes or crime-related activity shall
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  Speaker 1: be undertaken in accordance with one or more of the guidelines.
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  Speaker 1: The FBI must conduct prelim inquiries and investigations to prevent, detect,
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  Speaker 1: and prosecute federal law violations. Prelim inquiries and investigations governed
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  Speaker 1: by these guidelines are conducted for the purpose of preventing, detecting,
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  Speaker 1: and prosecuting violations of federal law. The FBI was authorized
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  Speaker 1: to initiate investigations in advance of criminal conduct when statements
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  Speaker 1: advocate criminal activity or indicate an apparent intent to engage
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  Speaker 1: in crime, particularly crimes of violence. Investigations were to be
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  Speaker 1: determined after all logical leads have been exhausted and no
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  Speaker 1: legitimate law enforcement interest justifies their continuance. The FBI may
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  Speaker 1: also conduct a prelim inquiry which must be recorded in writing.
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  Speaker 1: The FBI supervisor authorizing an inquiry shall assure that the
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  Speaker 1: allegations or other information which warranted the inquiry has been
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  Speaker 1: recorded in writing. Two, the FBI's requirement to investigate obscene
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  Speaker 1: matter cases and recognition that such cases often involve abuse
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  Speaker 1: to children. The 1991 MIOG set forth federal statutes prohibiting
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  Speaker 1: the transportation and distribution of of obscene matter and sexual exploitation.
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  Speaker 1: During the course of the investigation of most obscene matter cases,
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  Speaker 1: it becomes necessary to interview the subject and obtain obscene
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  Speaker 1: evidence from him or her. The obscene evidence was obtainable
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  Speaker 1: by search warrant, interview with the person, and other means.
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  Speaker 1: The MIOG acknowledged that persons who collect CP know it
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  Speaker 1: is illegal and many engage in child sex abuse. Investigations
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  Speaker 1: have shown that many individuals who import or consensually exchange
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  Speaker 1: CP for their own collections do so repeatedly and with
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  Speaker 1: full knowledge that it's illegal to do so. In addition,
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  Speaker 1: many of these individuals regularly engage in sexual child abuse.
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  Speaker 1: MIOG Part 1 Section 145 through 4.73 FBI field offices
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  Speaker 1: were encouraged to coordinate such investigations with local law enforcement
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  Speaker 1: and others. MIOG Part 1, Section 145-474. 3. The United States,
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  Speaker 1: Prioritization of Reporting, Investigation, and Prosecution of Sex Crimes Against Children.
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  Speaker 1: Per the 1991 MIOG, the FBI prioritized the investigation of
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  Speaker 1: sex crimes against children. The DOJ has advised the USAO
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  Speaker 1: that prosecution priorities should be given to matters involving violation
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  Speaker 1: of Title 18 and U.S. Code Section 2251-2257, Crimes Against Children.
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  Speaker 1: FBI priority should continue to be given to any investigative
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  Speaker 1: matter involving such use of children. MIOG Part 1 Section 145-48.1. Moreover,
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  Speaker 1: if there are any indications that child abuse is present,
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  Speaker 1: the FBI should ensure the matter is called to the
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  Speaker 1: attention of local investigators and prosecutors. MIOG Part 1 Section 145-4.82.
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  Speaker 1: The FBI gave special priority to cases involving the interstate
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  Speaker 1: shipment of material depicting minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
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  Speaker 1: The FBI also focused on rings distributing obscene matter, noting
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  Speaker 1: that the FBI was greatly desirous of curtailing the interstate
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  Speaker 1: operation of these combines. The FBI's self-avowed priority for the
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  Speaker 1: protection of children was further demonstrated in the establishment of
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  Speaker 1: the Innocent Images National Initiative in May of 1995, which
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  Speaker 1: focused on those who exploited children through the use of
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  Speaker 1: computers and established the Innocent Images Project, a multi-agency task
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  Speaker 1: force and national project to combat the use of computers
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  Speaker 1: in the trafficking of children. The DOJ and USAO similarly
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  Speaker 1: prioritized the investigation and prosecution of child sex abuse and
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  Speaker 1: exploitation crimes. According to the 1996 Annual Report of the
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  Speaker 1: Attorney General of the U.S., DOJ-supported child pornography legislation instituted
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  Speaker 1: the IINI, waged an aggressive battle to protect children from
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  Speaker 1: individuals who use computers to sexually abuse and exploit them,
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  Speaker 1: and helped to pass amendments to the child pornography laws
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  Speaker 1: criminalizing the dissemination, receipt, or possession of CP. 4. the
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  Speaker 1: FBI's mandatory reporting obligation to report child sex abuse and
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  Speaker 1: exploitation to law enforcement as per statute and guidelines. Starting
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  Speaker 1: in 1990, Congress enacted various laws applicable to the FBI
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  Speaker 1: and other federal agencies to address ever-increasing child abuse and neglect,
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  Speaker 1: including child sex abuse and exploitation. These statutory changes were
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  Speaker 1: based on congressional findings that child abuse was widespread, with
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  Speaker 1: nearly 3.5 million reports of suspected child abuse and neglect
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  Speaker 1: every year. The investigation and prosecution of these cases were
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  Speaker 1: extremely complex, involving numerous agencies and dozens of personnel, and
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  Speaker 1: too often the system did not pay sufficient attention to
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  Speaker 1: the needs and welfare of the child victim aggravating the
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  Speaker 1: trauma suffered by the child victim. U.S. Code 42 Section
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  Speaker 1: 1301 Congress also determined that multidisciplinary child abuse investigation and
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  Speaker 1: prosecution was critical to increase reporting of child abuse cases
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  Speaker 1: to reduce trauma to the child victim improve positive outcomes
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  Speaker 1: for the child, and increase the successful prosecution of child
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  Speaker 1: abuse offenders. These provisions imposed mandatory reporting obligations on FBI
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  Speaker 1: personnel to report any suspected claim of child sex abuse
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  Speaker 1: to law enforcement. In particular, under U.S. Code 34, Section
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  Speaker 1: 20341A1 and its predecessor provision, U.S. Code 42, Section 1331A1,
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  Speaker 1: applicable at the time of Maria's complaint, entitled child abuse
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  Speaker 1: reporting a person while engaged in a professional capacity on
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  Speaker 1: federal land or in federally operated or contracted facility who
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  Speaker 1: learns of facts that give reason to suspect that a
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  Speaker 1: child has suffered an incident of child abuse, including sexual
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  Speaker 1: abuse or exploitation, shall as soon as possible make a
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  Speaker 1: report of the suspected abuse to the appropriate law enforcement agency.
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  Speaker 1: Section 20341A2 provides that any covered individual, including law enforcement
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  Speaker 1: personnel who learns of facts that give reason to suspect
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  Speaker 1: that a child has suffered an incident of child abuse,
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  Speaker 1: including sexual abuse, shall as soon as possible make a
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  Speaker 1: report of the suspected abuse to the agency designated by
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  Speaker 1: the Attorney General under subsection D. Child abuse includes sexual
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  Speaker 1: abuse or exploitation, and child exploitation includes child pornography, and
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  Speaker 1: child prostitution, U.S. Code 34, Section 20341C1 and 6. Section
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  Speaker 1: 20341D further provides that all reports received shall be promptly investigated.
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  Speaker 1: According to a May 29, 2012 DOJ Office Illegal Counsel opinion,
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  Speaker 1: this statute applies to incidents that federal law enforcement officers
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  Speaker 1: discover during the course of their duties on federal land
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  Speaker 1: or in a federal facility, even if the child abuse
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  Speaker 1: itself did not occur on federal land, or in a
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  Speaker 1: federal facility. The FBI manual repeated and expanded the FBI's
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  Speaker 1: obligation to report any indication of child abuse to law enforcement.
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  Speaker 1: If there are any indications that child abuse is present,
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  Speaker 1: the FBI should ensure that the matter is called to
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  Speaker 1: the attention of local investigators and prosecutors. Reporting child sex
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  Speaker 1: abuse and exploitation by official personnel was also required in
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  Speaker 1: New York starting in 1973 pursuant to NY Social Services,
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  Speaker 1: Section 413. New York law required reporting of child abuse
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  Speaker 1: immediately by telephone or facsimile, followed up by a written
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  Speaker 1: report within 48 hours. Officials required to report suspected child
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  Speaker 1: abuse are civilly liable for the damages caused by such failure.
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  Speaker 1: NY Social Services, Section 420. All right, folks, we're going
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  Speaker 1: to wrap up right here. And in the next episode
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  Speaker 1: dealing with the topic, we're going to pick up where
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  Speaker 1: we left off. All the information that goes with this
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  Speaker 1: episode can be found in the description box.