Michael Kovac/Getty Images for AFI(LOS ANGELES) — Thursday, ABC News confirmed the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services is investigating a child abuse claim involving Brad Pitt. Now the FBI is looking into the case as well.
A law-enforcement official briefed on the investigation tells ABC News the FBI was notified about the allegations Monday, and was brought in after the local child-welfare agency was, because the alleged incident occurred in the air.
FBI headquarters is said to want an assessment from agents, though preliminary info suggests that if any violation of law occurred, the charges would likely be only misdemeanors. Agents are also trying to determine which child or children were involved in the alleged incident, and whether it became physical, or if it was just verbal.
There is no suspicion of drug use involved, per preliminary info.
Angelina Jolie, 41, filed for divorce from 52-year-old Pitt Monday, a decision her attorney said was “made for the health of the family.” TMZ reported an allegation that Pitt got “wasted” on a private jet last week and became physically and verbally abusive to his children.
Alluding to the allegation, the FBI said in a statement, “The FBI is continuing to gather facts and will evaluate whether an investigation at the federal level will be pursued.”
Pitt and Jolie were married for two years before their split. In the divorce document obtained by ABC News, the estranged couple’s date of separation was listed as September 15. Jolie Pitt has asked for physical custody of the couple’s six children: Maddox, 15, Pax, 12, Zahara, 11, Shiloh, 10, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 8.
“I am very saddened by this, but what matters most now is the well-being of our kids,” Pitt said earlier this week in response to the allegations.
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