Army knew of internet sex ring three years ago
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Army chief lays into force
Scathing video warning posted online as Army chief David Morrison leaves little doubt about his views on another ‘demeaning’ military sex scandal.
The Australian Defence Force hierarchy knew an exploitative internet sex ring was operating within its ranks almost three years ago but did not involve police until the middle of last year, it emerged on Saturday.
Fairfax Media asked Defence when the Australian Defence Force Investigative Service (ADFIS) began its investigation of the matter . An Army spokeswoman confirmed it first became aware of the unfolding scandal in September 2010.
NSW Police has stated that Kings Cross Local Area Command established Strike Force Civet in July last year – after being alerted in June.
Denial: Defence Minister Stephen Smith claims the military were not made to go public. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen
The latest revelation exposes a period of 21 months during which ADFIS conducted an internal investigation before approaching NSW Police for help.
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On Saturday the Department of Defence said ADFIS conducted an investigation between late 2010 to mid 2011, and involved police three months after the launch of the investigation.
The statement revealed the investigation was first referred to Victoria Police, and the Australian Federal Police were also initially involved .
Two years after a cadet was publicly exposed broadcasting himself having sex with a female counterpart on Skype, the Australian Defence Force has once again been rocked by sex abuse allegations, this time involving at least 17 male officers – including a lieutenant-colonel, the sixth highest rank in the army.
Calling themselves the Jedi Council, the sex ring ”picked up” women in locations such as airport lounges and bars, then filmed them performing sexually explicit acts.
The ADF went public with the revelations on Thursday when the Chief of Army, Lieutenant-General David Morrison, announced three personnel had been stood down and 14 others were being investigated in relation to ”demeaning, explicit and profane” emails . He also confirmed a brief relating to the three sacked personnel had been forwarded to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.
Defence Minister Stephen Smith has since denied the military was forced to go public because it was about to be exposed by other agencies involved.
An ADF spokeswoman said investigators had simply needed a period of time to ”do what they needed to do” without triggering potential ”adverse effects”.
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What Can Congress Do to Put an End to Rape and Sexual Abuse in …
When the Senate Armed Services Committee held a hearing on the U.S . military s sexual assault crisis, lawmakers grilled Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine officials on the alarmingly high number of rapes and other sexual abuses in their ranks.
Political momentum to address the problem has been building since the Pentagon released statistics1 last month showing that sexual assault increased by 35 percent between 2010 and 2012 . The outcry grew louder when a string of scandals came to light, including alleged sexual assaults by Army and Air Force officials who were in charge of preventing sexual abuse.
Senators have rushed to draft legislation to hold attackers accountable and provide support for victims .
But at the Senate hearing, officials steadfastly opposed most major changes in the way sexual assault cases are prosecuted . It will undermine the readiness of the force and will hamper the timely delivery of justice, said Army Chief of Staff2 Ray Odierno.
Here s a rundown of key congressional proposals and what the military is saying about them.
In the past month, there have been not one but two instances of soldiers working in Sexual Assault Prevention and Response offices charged with sexual assault.
1 . Stop giving military commanders the final say on rape convictions.
Under the military s criminal procedures, commanders have clemency powers, which means they can dismiss military court convictions for any reason or no reason .
The policy came under fire this spring when Air Force Lt . Gen . Craig Franklin overturned a jury s ruling3 that Lt .
Col . James Wilkerson, a fighter pilot, was guilty of aggravated sexual assault . Another official, Air Force Lt .
Gen . Susan Helms, was blocked from a promotion4 in May for throwing out a captain s sexual assault conviction without any public explanation.
In April, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel voiced support5 for stripping commanders of this power . Under Hagel s proposal, commanders could still reduce someone s sentence but would have to submit a reason in writing .
Sens . Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., have called for similar changes . Rep .
Jackie Speier, D-Calif., introduced a House bill6 that goes further, removing a commander s authority to overturn or reduce a judge s sentence.
Military officials are open to reforming the policy, though they say the Wilkerson case inflated outrage over a rarely-used power . Sen . Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a member of the Armed Services Committee and former Air Force lawyer7, has been the only lawmaker to speak out against the proposed change in policy.
2 .
Have lawyers determine which assault cases are credible not the defendant s boss.
Sen . Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., has called for the most major shift in how the military tries sexual assault cases . Now, commanders decide which cases are investigated and prosecuted, and which are thrown out .
Gillibrand s bill proposes giving independent military prosecutors that power for sex crimes and other serious charges . Commanders have an incentive to ignore rape allegations8, advocates of the change say, because it reflects poorly on their leadership.
Military officials are strongly opposed to such a change in authority . The consequences of such a decision would be extraordinarily damaging to the nation s security, Army Gen .
Martin Dempsey wrote in a letter to9 the Armed Services Committee chairman, Sen . Carl Levin, D-Mich . The change would undermine good order and discipline by sending a message that commanders cannot be trusted, Dempsey said.
3 .
Make sure a sex crime conviction means losing your job.
Sen . McCaskill has led a bipartisan effort10 to require that anyone convicted of rape, sexual assault, forcible sodomy, or an attempt to commit any of those offenses be dismissed or given a dishonorable discharge.
At the hearing, McCaskill argued that a soldier s job performance shouldn t be a factor in deciding whether to move forward with sexual assault cases . Currently, commanders may consider it when deciding whether to prosecute .
The facts of a felony are the facts of a felony, McCaskill said11 . I don t care how good a pilot it is.
Lt . Gen .
Richard C . Harding of the Air Force argued during the hearing that a defendant s character should be relevant in determining the case but should not have overriding weight.
4 . Scrutinize officers appointed to prevent sexual assault.
In the past month, there have been not one but two instances of soldiers working in Sexual Assault Prevention and Response offices charged with sexual assault .
The chief of the Air Force s prevention office was arrested last month12 for groping a woman . A week later, an Army sergeant working as a sexual assault program coordinator was arrested on multiple accusations of sexual abuse and for running a prostitution ring13.
Hagel immediately demanded14 that all officers in the services Sexual Assault Prevention and Response branches be retrained, rescreened, and recredentialed . Since then, Sens .
Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Deb Fischer, R-Neb., have introduced a bill15 that would elevate those jobs to a higher status, requiring stricter screening and more certification . In a letter to Secretary Hagel16, Shaheen and McCaskill wrote that In many cases, no interviews are required, and the commander plays a hands-off role in choosing who will perform those duties . The bill would require a commander to pick someone for the post.
5 .
Make it easier for sexual assault victims to access disability benefits.
While the Senate was hearing testimonies by military officials, the House unanimously passed legislation to increase access17 to disability benefits for sexual assault victims in the military . Veterans battling military sexual trauma face a higher burden of proof than those with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD . And because most sexual assaults go unreported, there is often little evidence available .
Under the proposed law, veterans would only have to show they were diagnosed with a mental health condition that stems from military sexual assault.
This post18 originally appeared on ProPublica, a Pacific Standard partner site.19
References
- ^ released statistics (www.nytimes.com)
- ^ said Army Chief of Staff (www.washingtonpost.com)
- ^ overturned a jury s ruling (www.stripes.com)
- ^ blocked from a promotion (articles.washingtonpost.com)
- ^ voiced support (www.cnn.com)
- ^ introduced a House bill (speier.house.gov)
- ^ a member of the Armed Services Committee and former Air Force lawyer (thehill.com)
- ^ incentive to ignore rape allegations (www.pbs.org)
- ^ wrote in a letter to (www.washingtonpost.com)
- ^ bipartisan effort (www.mccaskill.senate.gov)
- ^ McCaskill said (www.washingtonpost.com)
- ^ arrested last month (www.nytimes.com)
- ^ running a prostitution ring (www.usatoday.com)
- ^ Hagel immediately demanded (abcnews.go.com)
- ^ have introduced a bill (www.shaheen.senate.gov)
- ^ letter to Secretary Hagel (www.shaheen.senate.gov)
- ^ legislation to increase access (pingree.house.gov)
- ^ post (www.propublica.org)
- ^ ProPublica (www.propublica.org)
US Army chief admits many officers don’t grasp sex assault problem
By: David Alexander, Reuters
June 11, 2013 11:33 AM 
US Army chief General Ray Odierno greets new recruits after leading them in their oath in this file photo. (photo by Jonathan Ernst, Reuters)
InterAksyon.com1
The online news portal of TV5
WASHINGTON — The US Army is failing to deal with sexual assault in its ranks because too many soldiers in positions of authority do not think there is a problem, the Army chief of staff told a summit of leaders called to address the issue.
General Ray Odierno told a gathering of officials in the Army’s Sexual Harassment, Assault Response and Prevention program that when he travels to different bases and speaks to smaller units, he finds too many sergeants, lieutenants and captains who say they do not have a sex assault problem.
“That’s baloney,” he said. “That’s the problem . We’re not seeing ourselves.”
Some think because they are in an all-male unit, they don’t have a sexual assault problem, Odierno said.
“That’s not right,” he said. “In fact, you probably have some perpetrators, probably have some predators and you probably have some males who have probably been sexually assaulted or sexually harassed.”
“We have not been successful in solving this problem,” Odierno said. “We have a huge issue . And the main thing I want everybody to understand is that this is not just a passing issue .
For whatever reason, this is one that we’ve had for a very long time . And we have not been able to defeat it.”
Odierno’s remarks come as the Pentagon is struggling to deal with a big jump in estimated cases of unwanted sexual contact, as well as a spate of high-profile cases of sexual assault, including some involving personnel charged with combating the crime.
An annual Pentagon study released recently estimated that unwanted sexual contact, from groping to rape, jumped by 37 percent in 2012 to 26,000 cases from 19,000 the previous year.
The issue has triggered outrage among lawmakers . Some are pushing legislation to force the military to be more accountable in handling sexual assault cases, and others are seeking to remove responsibility for prosecuting the crimes from the victim’s military chain of command.
At the weekend, Odierno and Army Secretary John McHugh suspended the commanding general of US Army forces in Japan, Major General Michael Harrison, due to allegations he failed to properly investigate a sexual assault complaint.
“From the things I see, we still have people out there who tolerate sexual assault and sexual harassment,” Odierno told the summit. “Until we solve that problem, it’s going to get worse.”
He said dealing with the problem meant getting leaders from sergeants to lieutenant colonels to “take this on seriously, because we are not doing that today the way I want us to do it.”
“This is important to me .
I want to make sure everybody understands that,” Odierno said. “I sent a message out that said it’s my number one priority right now .
And I’m not kidding.”
References
- ^ InterAksyon.com (www.interaksyon.com)