© Reuters / Luke MacGregor
The US National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), which operates surveillance satellites for the US intelligence community, was also found in other cases to have delayed reporting to authorities admissions of criminal activity uncovered during security clearance polygraph tests. Two inspector general reports released Tuesday found these delays possibly imperiled evidence in investigations or even endangered children.
In one case, an NRO legal counsel advised employees against reporting admissions by a government contractor of child molestation, viewing child pornography, and sexting with a minor, according to the Office of the Intelligence Community Inspector General.
"Doubt we have enough to interest the FBI," the NRO's then-assistant general counsel told another agency official in an email, adding, "the alleged victim is fourteen years old and fully capable of calling the police herself."
The NRO employee reported the confession anyway, revealing that the girl was still in contact with the contractor who had admitted to the crimes. The US Department of Justice was not informed of the confession for nearly five weeks, according to McClatchy news service.
Overall, 30 individuals of the 30,000 who took the NRO polygraph tests from 2009 to 2012 confessed to child abuse or possessing child pornography, the inspector general found. The inspector general's office referred for investigation seven confessions related to child pornography or child abuse that the NRO failed to report.
Meanwhile, in some reported cases, delays as long as several months meant "individuals could continue the criminal activity or tamper with or destroy evidence in the interim," said the inspector general's office.
