Jenn Abelson

Washington, D.C.

Investigative reporter

Education: Cornell University, BS Communications

Jenn Abelson is an investigative reporter for The Washington Post and co-host of the podcast Broken Doors, which was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in audio journalism for exposing the dangers of no-knock warrants. She was part of the team that was recognized in 2020 as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for its investigation into America’s deadly opioid epidemic. She was also part of the team that won a Gerald Loeb Award in 2021 for its pandemic coverage. Before joining the Post, she previously worked as an investigative reporter for the Boston Globe Spotlight Team and co-authore
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Latest from Jenn Abelson

A school cop admitted to sexually abusing two students. He got probation.

Jamel Bradley, who worked for years as a Richland County school resource officer despite multiple complaints about sexual misconduct, was ordered to register as a sex offender. 

September 3, 2024

How The Post investigated police officers accused of sexually abusing kids

The Washington Post has spent more than a year examining police officers accused of sexually abusing kids. Here’s how we reported the Abused by the Badge series.

September 3, 2024

A school cop was accused of sexual misconduct with kids. He kept his job for years.

In South Carolina, Deputy Jamel Bradley remained a school resource officer despite complaints that he was preying on girls at Spring Valley High.

September 2, 2024

New Orleans ordered to pay $1 million to teen sexually assaulted by officer

A federal jury found the city of New Orleans responsible for what a police officer did to a 15-year-old in 2020.

August 21, 2024
Nicole, right, and her mother filed a civil rights lawsuit against the city of New Orleans in 2021.

NOPD planned to arrest officer hours before he sexually assaulted teen, official says

The New Orleans independent police monitor testified Tuesday that she was told that a warrant for Officer Rodney Vicknair had been issued and expected his arrest.

August 20, 2024
The teen, who is being identified by The Washington Post by her middle name, Nicole, was allegedly assaulted by the New Orleans police officer who took her for a rape kit. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post)

A teen sexually abused by a cop sued New Orleans. Now the trial begins.

A jury will decide if New Orleans is responsible for the sexual assault of the 15-year-old by one of its police officers. He first met the girl when he took her for a rape exam.

August 19, 2024
Nicole, who is being identified by her middle name, was 14 when New Orleans police officer Rodney Vicknair took her to the hospital for a rape exam in 2020. He pleaded guilty to abusing her in 2022.

Ex-South Bend officer faces decertification after Post sex abuse investigation

Indiana law enforcement officials plan to revoke the police certification of Timothy Barber, who’d kept it despite pleading guilty in 2022 to sexually abusing a teen in his patrol car.

June 17, 2024
A selfie sent by then-South Bend police officer Timothy Barber to a young woman he met while on the job. Along with sexually abusing a teen in his police car, records show he used his work computer to text multiple teens and young women.

An officer sexually abused a teen in his police car. How will he be punished?

South Bend police officer Timothy Barber met a teen at an Indiana Chick-fil-A and then sexually abused her in his patrol car. What punishment does he deserve?

June 12, 2024
Anne in front of the St. Joseph County Courthouse, where she spoke at the September 2022 sentencing hearing for Barber.

Abused by the badge

Hundreds of police officers in the United States have sexually abused children, a Post investigation found. In many cases, the officers have avoided prison time.

June 12, 2024

Trial over teen’s sexual abuse by police officer delayed after Post investigation

A federal judge in New Orleans postponed a trial in a civil case against the city following The Post’s revelations Thursday.

March 14, 2024
A teen and her mother filed a civil rights lawsuit against the city of New Orleans and its police superintendent in 2021.