Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) stated Monday that the number of sex-related crimes occurring in U.S. military communities is far greater than reports by the Defense Department. She alleges the Pentagon has refused to provide basic information about sexual assaults.
Source: NY Daily News
Gillibrand reported that the spouses of service members and civilian women living or working near military facilities are especially vulnerable to sexual assaults. “I don’t think the military is being honest about the problem,” Gillibrand said in an interview.
The senator analyzed 107 sexual assault cases and found punishments were either two lenient or the alleged assailant was believed more than the victim. Less than a quarter of these cases ever went to trial. Only 11 resulted in a conviction for a sex crime.
The Defense Department release their annual sexual assaults report. Which estimated the number of sex crimes has been decreasing and number of victims stepping forward to report them is increasing.
Gillibrand found the outcomes of many of these cases suspicious and suggested that the victim may have been intimidated to avoid trial or criminal charges.
Gillibrand has requested case files and details of the sexual assault cases investigated in the past, and she said refusal of the Pentagon to provide this data “calls into question the department’s commitment to transparency and getting to the root of this problem.”
Don Christensen, former chief prosecutor for the Air Force, called the report shocking. ““This should be a wake-up call for President Obama and anybody that thinks the military can solve this problem without creating an independent and impartial justice system,” said Christensen.
Source: NY Daily News
