More than 1,800 state and local police officers were arrested on charges related to child sexual abuse in the U.S. between 2005 and 2022, a chilling investigation by The Washington Post revealed Thursday. In most of the arrests, the Post reported that victims were not related to or acquaintances of their abusers, with some children reportedly being assaulted by the very officers who were sent to help them after they fell victim to a separate sexual assault. The Post reported girls, aged 13 through 15, were the most likely to be assaulted by officers, who often came in contact with them “through their jobs.” The data used in the probe came largely from a database kept by Bowling Green University, in Ohio, which has a comprehensive database of crimes committed by law enforcement across the country. The Post added that other assaults were found by digging through thousands of court records and local news reports. “In case after case, officers intentionally earned the trust of parents and guardians, created opportunities to get kids alone and threatened repercussions for broken silence,” the Post wrote. “Unlike teachers and priests, they did it all while wielding the power of their badges and guns.”
