Sexual Assault

An Air Force general has run afoul of Congress for granting clemency to a convicted sex offender without any public explanation, the latest case to raise fundamental questions about how the military justice system handles sex crimes . The case is the second this year in which a three-star Air Force general has raised lawmakers' hackles by effectively pardoning an officer found guilty of sexual assault, a crime many experts see as a growing...

WASHINGTON — More than 85,000 veterans were treated last year for injuries or illness stemming from sexual abuse in the military, and 4,000 sought disability benefits, underscoring the staggering long-term impact of a crisis that has roiled the Pentagon and been condemned by President Barack Obama as ""shameful and disgraceful. " A Department of Veterans Affairs accounting released in response to inquiries from The Associated Press shows a heavy financial and emotional cost involving...

In her May 12 op-ed column " It takes some brass to say things like these ," Ruth Marcus, while correct about the problem, missed the point of Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh's comments before the Senate Armed Services Committee. Our military, by design, is a microcosm of U.S. society. The recruiting base is representative of our society, with all its associated shortcomings. Compared to decades ago, today our society has a much different moral culture brought on by a complicated set of social influences, all of...

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he was willing to consider giving military prosecutors, instead of legally untrained commanders, the authority to decide whether to pursue sexual-assault investigations. While Dempsey has said he is open in general to legislative proposals that would change military law to combat sexual assault, he has not said he is willing to consider a bill that would give...

A little after 4 a.m. on July 21, 1996, Damon Thibodeaux, a deckhand on a Mississippi River workboat, cracked at the end of a nine-hour interrogation and confessed to the brutal rape and murder of his 14-year-old step-cousin, Crystal Champagne. "I didn't know that I had done it," Thibodeaux said at one point, according to a police transcript. "But I done it. " Before that day was over, Thibodeaux had recanted his confession, telling his court-appointed lawyer that he told police what they wanted...

An Air Force general's decision to overturn the conviction of a standout fighter pilot on sexual assault charges is stirring anger on Capitol Hill, where some lawmakers say they are losing patience with the military after a string of related scandals . Several members of Congress have demanded that the Pentagon intervene after Lt. Gen. Craig A. Franklin , commander of the Third Air Force in Europe, ordered the release of the fighter pilot...

The estimated number of military personnel victimized by sexual assault and related crimes has surged by about 35 percent over the past two years, the Pentagon reported Tuesday, as the White House and lawmakers expressed anger with the military's handling of the problem . The sobering statistics, along with several recent sexual-abuse scandals in the armed services, prompted President Obama to bluntly warn the Defense Department that he...

The U.S. Naval Academy junior accused of raping a female midshipman in her dorm room might have acted in a way unbecoming an officer, but what he did was not sexual assault, an investigating officer concluded in a report released yesterday. The 22-page report, written by Lt. John E. Clady, recommends that Mark A. Calvanico, 21, of Secaucus, N.J., face disciplinary procedures but not a court-martial. The report was sent to Vice Adm. Jeffrey L. Fowler, the superintendent of the Naval Academy, who ultimately will decide what...

Monica Medina, who served in the Army for four years, was a special assistant to the secretary of defense from May 2012 to April 2013. She helped craft the policy that ended the "combat exclusion rule," which precluded women from serving in the front lines of war zones. The news that sexual harassment and assault in the military are more common than ever — not just that the number of reported incidents has climbed in the past two years but also that an estimated 26,000 personnel experienced unacceptable...

The nation's three elite military colleges reported a record number of sexual assault cases this year, according to a Defense Department report issued Friday, prompting calls inside and outside the Pentagon for more aggressive steps to reverse the trend. Military officials argued that the increase could be reflective of a changing culture that makes victims increasingly willing to report the crimes, but senior Defense officials and activists said the cases are nevertheless an unacceptable blemish at...

WASHINGTON — As senior military leaders and government officials grapple with how to reduce sexual assaults in the military, a Pentagon report provides details of the problem. The numbers may not add up in all cases due to rounding or smaller categories that were not included. Key findings: —Overall, there were 3,374 reports of sexual assault during the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. —Based on that number and anonymous surveys of service members, the Pentagon estimates that as...

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Friday ordered the military to recertify all 25,000 people involved in programs designed to prevent and respond to sexual assault, an acknowledgement that assaults have escalated beyond the Pentagon's control. He said this step, which also applies to the military's approximately 19,000 recruiters and must be completed by July 1, is one among many that will be taken to fix the problem of sexual abuse and sexual harassment...

"It is time we take on the fight against sexual assault and sexual harassment as our primary mission. " — Gen. Ray Odierno, the Army chief of staff, saying trust between soldiers and their leaders has been violated by a recent string of misconduct cases. ___ "The American people deserve to have the utmost confidence and trust in their government, and as we work to get to the bottom of what happened and restore confidence in the IRS, Danny has the experience and management ability necessary to lead the agency at this important time.

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — The manager of the sexual harassment and assault response program at Fort Campbell, Ky., was arrested in a domestic dispute and relieved of his post, authorities said Thursday. Lt. Col. Darin Haas (HAHZ') turned himself in to police in Clarksville, Tenn., late Wednesday on charges of violating an order of protection, and stalking, authorities said Thursday. Master Sgt. Pete Mayes, a spokesman for the massive Army post on the...

President Obama summoned the Pentagon's leadership to the White House on Thursday for a crisis meeting about sexual assault in the armed forces , but the commander in chief said that "there's no silver bullet to solving this problem. " In a brief appearance after the session, Obama said sex crimes in the military are "dangerous to our national security" and "not a sideshow. " He said military officials had told him "that they're ashamed by some of what's happened," and he...

WASHINGTON — Obama: Military commanders say they are ‘ashamed' about sexual assault in the ranks . Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

George Washington University beefed up security at its top administrative building this week after a masked man attempted to sexually assault a female employee in a third-floor bathroom. The attack occurred Tuesday as the employee was working in Rice Hall on Eye Street NW after normal business hours, according to university officials. "A female staff member went into the women's restroom," the university said in an alert e-mailed Tuesday night to the D.C. campus community. "While inside the lights went out and she was attacked.

The Post's coverage of sexually assaulted Peace Corps volunteers' pursuit of compassion, care and justice should be lauded for balance and sensitivity. Resistance to reform by the Peace Corps and its supporters — illustrated by the Aug. 27 Free for All letter by Matt Losak of the Peace Corps Fund — demonstrates a profound ignorance of two decades of research on rape and sexual assault. Sadly, a woman's risk of being raped escalates when she enters the Peace Corps. In 2009 alone, the risk of being raped as a Peace...