HHS ignored allegations of sexual abuse of Native American boys, investigation finds: report

Documents released by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Tuesday revealed that top health officials were aware of complaints about a doctor sexually abusing Native American boys several years before the agency had previously acknowledged.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the documents from HHS revealed that lawyers for the federal agency were notified about the allegations against Stanley Patrick Weber in 2009. Weber was a long-time pediatrician with the Indian Health Service (IHS) and is believed to abused minors at the Pine Ridge Reservation from 1999 to at least 2011.

The internal investigation was released by HHS following a federal court ruling last month in favor of Dow Jones & Co., owner of The Wall Street Journal.

The Journal reported that each time officials were notified of the allegations against Weber, nothing was done in response.

Weber had worked for IHS since 1986 before transferring the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana in 1992, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

“While there, Weber used his position of trust in the community to gain access to, and sexually abuse, young Native American boys,” the DOJ said.

Weber resigned in 2016 amid growing suspicions surround the allegations against him. In 2019, Weber was convicted of five counts of aggravated sexual abuse and three counts of sexual abuse of a minor. And in February of 2020, he was sentenced to five consecutive life sentences.

The internal report, completed in January of 2020, was commissioned by the IHS following the airing of a documentary produced by the Journal and PBS’s “Frontline” titled “Predator on the Reservation,” which delved into how the IHS ignored the red flags surrounding Weber and allowed him to continue treating children.

New details uncovered by the report found that Weber once took a teenage boy to Europe in the early 90’s when he was meant to be posted at a civilian hospital in Mexico. Weber also once had a superior sign a memo he drafted expanding his duties to include after-school counseling and overnight and weekend trips with children.

In a statement to the Journal, IHS spokesperson Jennifer Buschick said, “The IHS acknowledges the trauma suffered by the victims of sexual abuse within our agency is unacceptable.”

“These actions are reprehensible, and we sincerely regret the harm caused to those involved,” Buschick added.

The Hill has reached out to HHS for further comment.