Army sergeant accused of videotaping female cadets in shower
By David Alexander
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – An Army sergeant at the U.S . Military Academy at West Point has been accused of videotaping female cadets in the shower, a defense official said on Wednesday, the latest in a series of sex-related incidents that has rocked the military.
Sergeant Michael McClendon was charged this month with four violations of U.S . military law: indecent acts, dereliction in the performance of duty, cruelty and maltreatment, and actions prejudicial to good order and discipline, Army spokesman George Wright said.
Wright said McClendon was being investigated for possession of inappropriate images taken without consent .
He did not elaborate.
The New York Times, which initially reported the incident, said the pictures included female cadets in the shower, which a defense official confirmed on condition of anonymity.
“The Army has notified those involved and offered support services at their individual locations,” Wright said. “It appears to be at least a dozen or more alleged victims who may have been photographed without their consent.”
McClendon, who had served at the prestigious military academy in New York, since 2009, was transferred to Fort Drum in New York after the charges were filed on May 14, Wright said.
McClendon served as a tactical noncommissioned officer at the academy, a job that put him in charge of mentoring and training a company of about 121 cadets, focusing on leadership development and other responsibilities.
General John Campbell, the Army’s vice chief of staff, said the service moved to address the situation at West Point as soon as the problem was reported.
“Our cadets must be confident that issues such as these are handled quickly and decisively, and that our system will hold those responsible accountable,” he said.
The report of charges against McClendon follows a spate of sex-related incidents that have embarrassed the U.S . military and prompted members of Congress to introduce legislation designed to toughen up the Pentagon’s handling of sex crimes.
A study released by the Defense Department two weeks ago estimated that incidents of unwanted sexual contact in the military, from groping to rape, rose 37 percent in 2012, to about 26,000 cases from 19,000 the previous year.
The report was released just days after Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Krusinski, 41, who led the Air Force sexual assault prevention effort, was charged with sexual battery involving a civilian woman in a parking lot not far from the Pentagon.
Several days later a U.S . Army sergeant who worked as a sexual assault prevention coordinator at Fort Hood, Texas, was accused of pandering, abusive sexual contact and assault.
Lawmakers in the Senate and U.S .
House of Representatives are moving ahead with steps to toughen the military’s response to sex-related crimes and provide better treatment for victims.
(Editing by Doina Chiacu)
Army commander suspended over sexual misconduct charges … – RT
The Army s top general at Fort Jackson has been suspended over allegations of assault and adultery . The news strikes another blow against the US military, which has come under immense scrutiny for its frequent sex scandals involving senior officers.
Brig . Gen .
Bryan Roberts is facing accusations of adultery and engaging in a physical altercation with a woman that is not his wife . The 29-year veteran was the top general at Fort Jackson, S.C., where he took command in April 2012 . He previously served as head of a unit training Iraqi soldiers .
Roberts has been suspended pending an investigation into the allegations against him. The Army made the announcement of Roberts suspension on Tuesday, but did not provide further details regarding the assault and adultery allegations. It was not clear whom Brig .
Gen Bryan Roberts struck, USA TODAY reported, indicating that the general may have physically harmed the woman with whom he had an altercation . NBC News reports that the altercation involved Roberts and the woman he allegedly cheated on his wife with, and that the two were involved in a violent argument . After making up, Roberts allegedly bit the woman s lip, which caused her to seek medical help, a US military official told the news agency.
Brig . Gen . Peggy Combs, Commandant of the US Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear School at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, will take over as interim commander while the investigation is ongoing.
The U.S . Army s Command and Staff page on Tuesday showed a vacant spot under the position of Commanding General . The suspension is the latest sex scandal involving a senior military officer .
In recent months, the Pentagon has come under enormous pressure to address the number of military sexual assault allegations. Earlier this month, Air Force Lt . Col .
Jeffrey Krusinski, was arrested for drunkenly groping a woman . Krusinski was in charge of sexual abuse prevention, which made the case more disgraceful than most. Sgt .
1 st Class Gregory McQueen, the US military soldier responsible for overseeing sexual assault prevention at Ford Hood is also under investigation1 for sexual assault . The man is facing allegations including the maltreatment of subordinates and running a prostitution ring. Meanwhile, Lt .
Col . Darin Haas, the manager of Fort Campbell s sexual harassment prevention office, was fired from his post and arrested on charges of violating an order of protection, and stalking his ex-wife. Although the details of Roberts allegations remain unclear and it is not known whether the assault was a sexual assault, his misconduct serves as further embarrassment to the Pentagon during a month filled with news of sex scandals and shocking statistics.
Pentagon officials recently announced that sexual assault incidents have increased by 35 percent from 2010 to 2012, bringing the annual total to 26,000 last year .
The Department of Veteran Affairs also found that 85,000 US veterans received2 medical treatment for sex abuse trauma last year, which indicates that the effects of assault have far-reaching consequences, both financially and emotionally.
References
- ^ investigation (rt.com)
- ^ received (rt.com)
Poole sex shop fights criticism after opening opposite school uniform …
A new sex shop opens on Poole High Street
Sex shops are renowned for their controversy, with their sexualised displays often causing shock among local residents who would rather banish them from the high street.
New sex shop Purrfectly Discreet , upset traders and shoppers on Poole High Street last week, after it opened its doors opposite an outlet selling school uniforms.
The store, which has an over 18 s warning label on the door offers a range of sex toys, clothing and accessories . Shop owner, Joe Budimir, says he believes the store will be very popular with local residents and shoppers
Since being open, everything has been really positive . We have had a really big response from couples, single sex females and the general people across Dorset
I don t think it makes an impact at all that we are opposite the (school uniform) clothes store .
We have stayed away from the style of the typical seedy back of the high street type sex shops with the blacked out windows and have done a lot of work on the visual design to ensure it is appropriate.
Shop owner John Budimir
Mr Budimir also has plans to expand the business and has applied to Borough of Poole for a sex shop licence that would enable him to also sell explicit R18 DVD s . However, before a licence is granted the council will take the stores location into consideration.
We believe we have done all the things that the council have asked, we are not sleazy looking . If we are granted a licence the council can then add further restrictions including opening times and what is allowed in the windows, said Mr Budimir.
Local shoppers and traders fear that the appearance of the store, which features two large posters of women in lingerie in its windows, will have a negative effect on the image of the town, which is often used a walkthrough for tourists heading to Poole Quay.
Adult stores have increasingly become regular icons in town centres across the country with Ann Summers reporting a 400% increase in their sex toy sales last year.
This boom in provocative products can be accredited to the unprecedented success of the erotic fiction novel Fifty Shades of Grey, which became the UK s best selling book of all time last August.
Do you think sex shops should have a place on our high street ?
Have your say and tweet us @buzz_bmth
Army general suspended over adultery, assault allegations
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Sex, drugs and dirty money: A quick guide to Virginia political scandals
Photo: Cubbies2591 at en.wikipedia
It s currently overshadowed by the scandalous trifecta swirling around the White House and the aftermath of last weekend s Virginia Republican Convention, but expect to hear a lot more between now and Election Day about Jonnie Williams, Star Scientific and their links to Gov. Bob McDonnell and Attorney Ken Cuccinelli1.
The gist is that Williams gave McDonnell and Cuccinelli $120,000 and $18,000 in contributions and gifts some of which initially went unreported in public disclosures required by law and the possibility of a quid pro quo has attracted the attention of the FBI.
The ongoing scandal could blow an ill wind toward Cuccinelli s run for governor and McDonnell s national ambitions or it could turn out to be a tempest in a teapot.
Either way, it s only the latest in a long line of scandals that have engulfed Virginia politicians over the years.
1802. You can t talk about political scandals in the Old Dominion without starting with Thomas Jefferson2.
Political journalist James Callendar wrote in a Richmond newspaper in 1802 that Jefferson kept a concubine slave named Sally Hemings, with whom he d fathered multiple children. The story broke during the second year of Jefferson s presidency and was repeated throughout his two terms.
In 1998, DNA testing of Hemings descendants concluded that a Jefferson had been the father of at least her youngest child, though experts and advocates still argue whether it was Thomas or his younger brother Randolph who was the true father.
1990. L. Douglas Wilder was the country s first black governor, and his name regularly was dropped as a potential presidential candidate.
But Virginians have a habit of turning on state officials who appear to be too intent developing a national profile. It didn t help that Wilder appeared to be using his state-provided Cessna jet for personal trips and things got worse when reporters broke the news that Wilder had been using a State Police helicopter3 for trips that did not appear on his public schedule and the purpose for which he refused to disclose.
After his term in the governor s mansion, Wilder worked in the private sector for years before he ran for and was elected mayor of Richmond. Though not as scandalous as his undisclosed use of a state helicopter, he made headlines for his clashes with the city school board4, including an abrupt attempt to evict its offices from city hall even after the city council had voted the school board could remain there for another five years.
1991.
U.S. Sen. Chuck Robb had for three years been accused of attending cocaine parties5 while he was governor in the mid-80s. The cocaine, however, became backdrop to a sex scandal when Tai Collins, a Roanoke-born former Miss Virginia, alleged that she and then-U.S.
Sen. Chuck Robb had engaged in an affair6 around the same time. Robb, famously married to Lady Byrd Johnson LBJ s daughter denied the affair but admitted to sharing a bottle of wine with Collins before receiving a nude massage from her.
The scandal didn t keep Robb from defeating Oliver North to win re-election in a heated 1994 campaign (chronicled in the 1996 documentary A Perfect Candidate7 ), but it did put a cap on any national ambitions he might have held.
Often a scandal is preceded by rumors. That was the case with Jefferson in 1802, and it was true with former Virginia House Speaker Vance Wilkins 200 years later as well. When I worked in the Richmond press corps during General Assembly sessions from 2006 through 2009, it was easy to get veteran reporters to start telling old stories, and a common tale involved Wilkins ogling a reporter demonstrating yoga at a party near Capitol Hill.
Wilkins chief-of-staff had already been investigated in a case in which Republican Party officials were accused of eavesdropping on Democratic conference calls, but the real twist of the knife came when the Washington Post reported that Wilkins had paid $100,000 to a woman from Amherst who had accused him of sexual harassment8.
Wilkins stepped down as Speaker of the House six days after the story ran and he resigned as a delegate within weeks. In recent years, however, Wilkins has re-emerged as a behind-the-scenes player9 in GOP politics.
2005-06. Virgil Goode has spent near a lifetime in elected office. He s served in the Virginia Senate and the U.S.
House of Representatives, running at various times as a Democrat, independent and Republican. He even ran for president10 last year as the nominee of the Constitution Party. For a while, it looked as if Goode could serve as Virginia s 5th District Congressman as long as he pleased.
He eventually went down, but it took the 2008 Obama wave and the closest congressional race in the country before he eventually lost to eventual single-termer Tom Perriello.
The first chink in Goode s armor, though, came out of a campaign finance scandal involving MZM, Inc., a defense contracting company that operated a center in Martinsville, Va. MZM s CEO eventually pleaded guilty to making illegal campaign contributions to three congressman11 to steer government business to his company. MZM had given more than $90,000 to Goode, and he appears to be one of the congressman cited but not by name in court records. Goode donated all of the tainted contributions back to charities and non-profits in the 5th District, but questions about MZM dogged him for two years.
2006.
A number of Virginia lawmakers regularly carry concealed weapons at the Capitol, a fact occasionally cited during debates over gun issues. Early in the 2006 session, Jack Reid of Henrico County fired his gun in his office in the General Assembly Building. No one was hurt, as Reid s .380 sent a single bullet in a bulletproof vest hanging on his office door.
But the incident triggered a lot of initial rumor before Reid explained that the gun had gone off as he popped the clip from the handle12. That didn t quell all the rumors one theory had Reid, as a key member of the sniggering House Sensitivity Caucus, firing the gun into his vest on a dare but it did make for a lot of jokes afterward.
Kaine, speaking at the Virginia Capital Correspondents Association dinner, led with a joke that combined Reid and Dick Cheney s hunting accident13: Jack Reid and Dick Cheney walk into a bar. There are no survivors.
2007.
Del. Onzlee Ware of Roanoke is another elected official who looks set to serve as long as he likes at least for now. In 2007, Ware was wrapping up his second term and running against an independent candidate who had initially intended to run as a Democrat but whose paperwork was incomplete at the deadline. Ware looked to be in for an easy race.
But then one of Ware s opponents in a divided, factionalized city Democratic Party leaked a tip that Ware had previously been arrested for possessing heroin.
Court records on file in Greensboro showed that in 1975, while in college, Ware was indeed charged after officers found drug paraphernalia, marijuana and a tin foil packet with heroin while searching his house and car. The charges were dropped after Ware became a police informant but the dealer eventually found out about it from a discovery proceeding and a day later, Ware was wounded by a gunshot. He lost his leg over the incident.
Because it had been more than 30 years since the incidents and he s maintained a clean record since then, however,Ware was not only able to downplay any potential scandal, but he was able to turn it into a positive by working it into a story of redemption14.
References
- ^ Jonnie Williams, Star Scientific and their links to Gov.
Bob McDonnell and Attorney Ken Cuccinelli
(www.nytimes.com) - ^ Thomas Jefferson (www.monticello.org)
- ^ reporters broke the news that Wilder had been using a State Police helicopter (articles.dailypress.com)
- ^ headlines for his clashes with the city school board (www.nytimes.com)
- ^ accused of attending cocaine parties (articles.chicagotribune.com)
- ^ alleged that she and then-U.S.
Sen.
Chuck Robb had engaged in an affair
(www.people.com) - ^ A Perfect Candidate (www.imdb.com)
- ^ Wilkins had paid $100,000 to a woman from Amherst who had accused him of sexual harassment (web.archive.org)
- ^ has re-emerged as a behind-the-scenes player (www.timesdispatch.com)
- ^ ran for president (www.goodeforpresident2012.com)
- ^ MZM s CEO eventually pleaded guilty to making illegal campaign contributions to three congressman (ww2.roanoke.com)
- ^ Reid explained that the gun had gone off as he popped the clip from the handle (www.washingtonpost.com)
- ^ Dick Cheney s hunting accident (en.wikipedia.org)
- ^ Ware was not only able to downplay any potential scandal, but he was able to turn it into a positive by working it into a story of redemption (ww2.roanoke.com)
Army general suspended after fight with mistress
An Army brigadier general who commanded a South Carolina post has been suspended for allegedly having a physical altercation with a mistress, officials said Tuesday.
Brig . Gen . Bryan T .
Roberts, the top commander at Fort Jackson, is the latest in a string of senior military officials who have come under investigation for alleged misconduct . The case comes amid an outcry from lawmakers and other critics who say the Pentagon is failing to address pervasive sexual harassment and assault in the ranks.
The allegations are being thoroughly investigated, said Harvey Perritt, a spokesman for the Army Training and Doctrine Command . Perritt said the Army s criminal investigations division is handling the probe .
Army officials did not say when the incident is alleged to have taken place or how it came to their attention . Perritt said Roberts would not be available to comment. A defense official said Roberts got into a physical altercation with a woman with whom he was having an affair .
These are not allegations of sexual assault or harassment, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing. If investigators find enough evidence, Roberts could be charged with assault and adultery, which is a crime under military law. Brig .
Gen . Peggy C . Combs, who runs the Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear School at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., will take over Roberts s duties until the matter is resolved, the Army said in a statement .
Roberts had been at the helm of Fort Jackson, a large Army training base, since April 10, 2012. Two other Army generals have been investigated in recent months for allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct . Brig .
Gen . Jeffrey Sinclair, the former deputy commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, was charged last year with rape and other charges that involved an affair with a subordinate . His case has not gone to trial .
Maj . Gen . Ralph O .
Baker, who led a counterterrorism force in Africa, was fired in March after being investigated for allegedly groping a woman while he was under the influence of alcohol.
The Army disclosed last week that it was investigating a soldier at Fort Hood in Texas assigned to be his unit s sexual assault prevention officer for alleged sex abuse and prostituting a fellow soldier.
3 Mom Rules to Prevent Military Sexual Assault | SpouseBUZZ.com
Knowing better does not seem to prevent much sexual assault in the military . In May, three individual military sexual assault officials were fired for committing sexual assault1.
President Obama announced that sexual assault in the military was a national security risk,2 a scourge on the military . Air Force General Mark Welsh admitted that sexual assaults3 in his branch of the military typically involve alcohol use and can be traced to a lack of respect for women.
That s great .
Really enlightening . But, uh, what is the military going to do now that they haven t already done?
More education isn t the answer4.
The military has been educating its members constantly . Sexual assault response coordinators train every member of the Air Force every single year about sexual assault prevention.
For the past five years, the Army has been drilling every new soldier with the I A.M .
Strong campaign . The campaign teaches ten sex rules5 that include: No always means no, and silence doesn t mean consent.
Those rules are good, I guess . But we are living in a society in which sexual assault is not limited to the military .
Every college campus in this country is blighted by the scourge of sexual assault . Sexual assault cloaked in shame and silence and alcohol.
How do you change a whole society ? The very idea seems impossible to me .
Brilliant academic and political minds have worked on this issue for decades . What can one little person do?
I am only one person, but I am one person . I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do .
Helen Keller
I think that I m responsible for my own self . I think I am responsible for the raising of my children . So instead of teaching the Army s sex rules, I m going to start my kids on my own sex rules in the hope that these will keep my military kids out of trouble:
3 Mom Rules To Prevent Military Sexual Assault
1.Unconsciousness is not a family value. We ve got beer in the fridge and a couple of bottles of wine in the kitchen, but we don t drink to oblivion in our family .
I ve seen my husband drunk maybe five times in 25 years . I have never seen my parents or my in-laws drunk . We are a lucky family that way .
I am hoping that my kids absorb the idea that a drink is something that adds to your pleasure it isn t the pleasure itself.
2 . Women are smart. I ve always credited my mother-in-law for my husband s attitude toward women . She is smart .
Really smart . So my husband was raised expecting all women to be brilliant . He is so surprised to run into a not-so-bright woman .
I want my kids to grow up with the same idea . I want them to act like people are smart and decent . They know their dad and I expect them to treat others especially their mother with respect.
3 .
Sex is for relationships. Most of all, I try to teach my children that sex is something that you have inside a relationship . Sex isn t a sport . Sex isn t a sign of your own power .
Sex isn t a secret . Ever since my kids took their first family life course in grade school, I ve been telling them that sexy stuff happens with someone you love . I don t want them to know the emptiness that follows sex without love .
I don t want them to believe that sex is something you take whenever it is offered . I want something better for my kids.
I know my kids will never be perfect on any of these rules . I probably haven t been perfect about these rules either.
But if we are going to really change a society, we can t wait for the military to instill values in people .
We ve gotta get em while they are young .
We ve gotta get em while they are fresh .
We ve gotta start preventing sexual assault at home.
References
- ^ fired for committing sexual assault (www.military.com)
- ^ national security risk, (www.military.com)
- ^ sexual assaults (www.military.com)
- ^ More education isn t the answer (spousebuzz.com)
- ^ ten sex rules (www.gordon.army.mil)
Why Military Dating Sites Are perfect Options For Uniformed Men …
Career in the military may seem treasured, but it is filled with hassles . They earn all the respects with effort and often blood . Military men invest a unique way of life .
They go away at a soft age and they are positioned in remote aspects of the country definately not home . These areas are not savoury to reside in . Many of them are battle torn or others possess some cause for physical violence .
Moreover, anytime there is any catastrophe (man-made or natural) the actual military men have to visit as reduction . As a tradition in the military the men are relocated in one section of the nation to another on a rotation basis every area is further from their home . This type of lifestyle makes their own social life jeopardized .
They have hardly any scope for partnership, intimacy or sharing feelings . Seeing blood and violence all around for days generates week . At times the military men alts crave for some psychological support by means of female accompaniment .
They too need someone to sound those romantic words within their ear.
Because the life in army is second to none, therefore the mate should be familiar with chores of army life . A gift is first for your nation as well as someone else . It is a bitter reality that the female companion has to break down .
Moreover, partnership with a military man is bound to end up being long distance without any contact for a lot of days and even several years . This is when military online dating sites are such a welcome addition within the lives of such brave soldiers that lay down their life for the glory of their nation . At kunne these uniform online dating sites all the pairs are matched properly .
The compatibility quotient is checked too many times so that there aren;t any break-ups because of mismatch . Just ladies willing to understand and support the brave soldiers are permitted . The military online dating sites make certain that dating is a welcome addition to the lives associated with men and not cause of problem.
Army dating sites differ from the standard online dating sites .
The males and women as well have to fill up every detail for personal profile . Details just like what exactly they are searching for in their time along with certain some other pertinent details certainly are a must to be filled in . This allows the uniform relationship site administrators to compare the profiles and even come up with the very best matches .
These dating sites cater to the needs of specific army wings . Although the access is not really restricted, however special sites cater properly for particular wings . Most respected military dating sites offer a vast resource info and other facilities for joyous online dating .
There are hardly any common features in the uniform online dating sites.
There are lots of free companies in the military online dating sites such as free of charge membership, instant messaging, mailing, live chat rooms (which are generally available at little cost) .
There exists a large amount of extra scope for mutual sharing of ideas and emotions .
It is important that only reputed uniform online dating sites are selected.