The headline of an article by Jason Leopold for Bloomberg Newsletter FOIA File, “USAID Records Detail Child Sex Crimes, Labor Abuse and Social Media Threats,” summarizes some of the highlights he found in reviewing about 400 pages from USAID’s OIG. The article provides redacted copies of documents related to the following:
- Allegations of child sexual abuse by a director of a prominent charity in the Central Africa Republic, partially funded by USAID through a WFP PIO grant. USAID did not debar or suspend because the investigation did not meet the standards of evidence required after a protracted period.
- Allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse by personnel associated with a Kenyan orphanage funded by USAID. The award was terminated, and the identified individuals were suspended/debarred for five years.
- Child labor violations by a subcontractor under a Water and Sanitation activity in Iraq. The subcontractor was debarred, but not the grantee.
- A Twitter threat by a USAID employee, who later apologized.
- Disclosure of the identity of a covert Embassy official by a USAID employee, who was stripped of his security clearance and soon retired.
