Report: FBI agent used photos of female office staff as bait in sex trafficking sting

Horowitz noted that posting the photos of non-certified undercover staff online could place them ‘in danger of becoming the victims of criminal offenses’. — AP

WASHINGTON: An FBI agent faces potential disciplinary measures after an investigation by the US Justice Department’s internal watchdog revealed he allegedly asked a female support staffer to provide “provocative” photos of herself that he used as bait in an undercover sex-trafficking operation.

In a memo on Aug 2, Inspector General Michael Horowitz said the investigation led his office to discover that the agent’s conduct was not an isolated incident, and there were also other cases in which agents have asked female office staff to pose as minor children or sex workers in undercover operations.