Is there a compiled database of elected officials charged with sex crimes or child exploitation in the U.S.?
Executive summary
There is no single, comprehensive public database that catalogs every U.S. elected official charged with sex crimes or child-exploitation offenses; journalists and NGOs keep partial, overlapping lists (e.g., AP cataloging at least 147 state lawmakers accused of sexual harassment or misconduct since 2017) and databases exist for narrower scopes such as congressional misconduct or political convictions [1] [2] [3]. Major outlets and projects—Associated Press, PBS, Ballotpedia, GovTrack and Wikipedia—provide curated lists tied to specific offices, timeframes, or outcomes rather than an authoritative nationwide register [1] [2] [4] [3].
1. No single national register — why coverage is fragmented
Researchers, news organizations and nonprofits maintain records but each covers a slice: AP’s count focuses on state lawmakers and reports “at least 147” accused since 2017 (state-level sexual harassment/misconduct) while GovTrack’s “Legislator Misconduct Database” compiles congressional conduct categories and makes raw data available on GitHub, not a single “charged with sex crimes” roster [1] [2]. Wikipedia categories list convicted politicians but note their own incompleteness and narrow criteria [3] [5]. These project boundaries—jurisdiction, allegation vs. charge vs. conviction, elected vs. appointed—produce non-overlapping, partial datasets [2] [3].
2. Different projects use different definitions and thresholds
Some compilations count allegations (AP’s tally of lawmakers accused since 2017), others list charges or convictions (Ballotpedia’s “noteworthy criminal misconduct” pages; Wikipedia’s “convicted” categories), and a governmental database of every criminal charge against every elected official does not appear in the cited reporting [1] [4] [3]. That means totals vary dramatically depending on whether an effort includes allegations, administrative ethics findings, indictments, plea deals, or court convictions [2] [1].
3. Sources that come closest and their limits
GovTrack’s misconduct page assembles historical congressional cases and provides raw data for reuse, but it emphasizes multiple conduct types (bribery, ethics, sexual harassment) rather than a focused registry of sex- or child-exploitation charges [2]. Ballotpedia maintains “noteworthy criminal misconduct” lists for specific years and highlights indicted or charged officials but flags that inclusion does not equal guilt [4]. AP and PBS have compiled high‑value journalism databases of state-level allegations, but those do not include every office or always track subsequent criminal charging and conviction status [1] [6].
4. Practical obstacles to a single database
The reporting shows three practical barriers: jurisdictional fragmentation (federal, state, local), differing legal outcomes (allegation, investigation, indictment, conviction), and resources required for continuous updating. The AP’s state‑lawmakers tally illustrates the resource-intensiveness of tracking allegations across 50 states, yielding “at least 147” names since 2017 rather than an exhaustive list [1]. GovTrack’s public GitHub approach covers Congress historically but leaves gaps for state and local officials [2].
5. Where to look depending on your need
For congressional misconduct and a reusable dataset, GovTrack’s misconduct page and its GitHub exports are the most directly usable starting point [2]. For state legislatures and state executive offices, AP/PBS reporting and patch lists compile allegations and outcomes for state lawmakers [1] [6]. For convictions specifically, Wikipedia categories and Ballotpedia’s criminal‑misconduct pages list convicted or charged politicians but carry caveats about completeness and currency [3] [4].
6. Competing perspectives and implied agendas in the sources
News organizations emphasize public accountability and transparency (AP, PBS), which leads to aggressive inclusion of allegations; those datasets can overcount persons never charged or convicted. GovTrack and Ballotpedia present data as records of official conduct or “noteworthy” allegations, but both warn that listings do not equal guilt and are shaped by selectable filters and scope choices [2] [4]. Wikipedia depends on volunteer editors and can lag or exclude recent cases; it is transparent about scope but not authoritative [3].
7. What the sources do not address
Available sources do not mention a single, consolidated federal registry listing all elected officials charged specifically with sex crimes or child-exploitation offenses across every jurisdiction. They also do not describe a centralized law-enforcement database publicly accessible for that purpose (not found in current reporting).
If you want, I can build a practical search plan—stepwise sources and queries—to assemble a custom, reproducible list (federal, state, local filters) using GovTrack, AP/PBS datasets, Ballotpedia, DOJ press releases and local-court reporting cited above [2] [1] [4].