The child abuse allegations against Brad Pitt have been referred to the FBI, PEOPLE confirms.
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An FBI spokeswoman, Laura Eimiller, said in a statement late Thursday that the agency is still evaluating whether to do its own investigation into the allegations.
A source said the FBI is investigating the claims as a jurisdictional issue due to the alleged incident taking place in the air.
The Los Angeles County Department of Child & Family Services confirmed to Los Angeles-based KTLA that Pitt is being investigated for claims of child abuse, according to a tweet by the station.
Reports said Pitt was drunk and became involved in an argument with Maddox on board the plane, which may have turned physical.
The news site said the incident prompted Angelina Jolie to file for divorce the following Tuesday.
The source also told the LA Times and CelebrityInsider website that the Los Angeles County Department of Children & Family Services is conducting an investigation into Pitt’s behaviour.
Police have confirmed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is handling possible child abuse claims relating to Brad Pitt.
Brad is said to be taking the investigation “very seriously” and is “scared” he will lose his children over something that never happened. A report by TMZ claims Pitt “lunged” at one of his children and “connected in some fashion with his son”.
It was the second marriage for Pitt, 52, who previously Wednesday actress Jennifer Aniston, and the third for Jolie Pitt, 41, who was previously married to Billy Bob Thornton and Jonny Lee Miller.
“LAPD is not handling any report of allegations of child abuse for Mr. Brad Pitt”, LAPD Officer Jenny Houser told CNN.
A source told US Weekly that Jolie took extreme measures to sever lines of communication with her estranged husband Pitt. The incident was anonymously reported to authorities several days later. Jolie lists the date of separation in her divorce filing as 15 September.
Pitt released a statement to People magazine at the time saying, “I am very saddened by this, but what matters most now is the well-being of our kids”.
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Pitt and Jolie have six children: Maddox, 15, Pax, 12, Zahara, 11, Shiloh, 10, and twins Knox and Vivenne, 8.
