Pictures of the Year International

NEW ORLEANS, LA - May 4: Nicole poses for a portrait behind a curtain to obscure her face at her home in New Orleans, LA on May 4, 2023. Nicole was 14 when Officer Rodney Vicknair, then 53, of the New Orleans Police Department took her to the hospital for a rape examination after she said her 17-year-old friend forced himself on her. Four months later, Vicknair was instead arrested for also sexually assaulting Nicole. A Washington Post investigation found that at least 1,800 state and local police officers were charged with crimes involving child abuse from 2005 through 2022. Abusive officers most frequently targeted girls between 13 and 15 years old and regularly met them while on the job. The victim is being identified by her middle name only, to protect her identity. (Photo by Carolyn Van Houten/TWP) An investigation found that at least 1,800 state and local police officers across the United States were charged with crimes involving child abuse from 2005 through 2022. Abusive officers most frequently targeted girls between 13 and 15 years old and regularly met them while on the job. From sex trafficking to assault, the officers groomed girls across the country and frequently escaped punishment. This series of images shares the stories of some of the survivors, explores the places where these crimes occurred, and confronts one of the convicted predators. Seeking to empower the women who shared their stories rather than further take away their autonomy, some of the images obscure their faces and some captions do not use full names to identify the women.