The head of a House armed services subcommittee has asked Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to respond to a Denver Post investigation detailing the mishandling of sexual assault and domestic violence cases in the military.
In a letter dated Nov. 18, Rep. John McHugh, R-N.Y., referred to The Post’s three-day series, titled “Betrayal in the Ranks,” which began Nov. 16 and described flaws in the military’s justice system and victim services.
The stories raise “serious allegations regarding Department of Defense treatment of sexual misconduct and domestic violence,” wrote McHugh, who is chairman of the armed services Total Force Subcommittee, which oversees military personnel policy. “I request that you examine these allegations … and provide your assessment to me.”
Rumsfeld replied Nov. 25 that he has asked Undersecretary of Defense David Chu to address the matter and get back to McHugh “as soon as possible.”
Though McHugh was waiting to hear from Rumsfeld before determining the next course of action, “We’re not going to let this issue go away,” he told The Post on Monday.
“These are incredibly emotional circumstances,” he said. “When you talk about vile crimes, it’s impossible for me to imagine one more vile than the invasion of a woman’s body.”
In recent days, additional reports of military sexual assaults have surfaced, including the case of an Army sergeant who was raped in Kuwait.
The woman was beaten to unconsciousness, tied and raped, family members say. Yet she has not been given a victim advocate or received any kind of counseling, the woman’s husband told The Post. She also had to wait a week for additional medical treatment for head, back and leg injuries caused by the attack. Army officials in Kuwait could not be reached for comment.
The woman has described her attacker as American. Her husband, also in the Army, said he felt sorry for what his wife and the other women in her unit had to face.
“Not only the fear of fighting the enemy, but something within, the people they are supposed to trust,” he said.
Once back in the United States, he said, his wife will receive civilian, and not military, counseling. “The Army’s just not really set up to handle it.”
The Post’s nine-month investigation found that military commanders routinely fail to prosecute those accused of sexual assault and domestic violence.
Nearly 5,000 alleged sex offenders, including alleged rapists, avoided prosecution in the Army in the past decade when commanders handled their cases administratively instead of through their criminal courts, records show.
More than 60 victims of sexual assault or domestic violence told The Post they faced a climate of intimidation or were pressured to abandon prosecution of crimes.
Under the military system, commanders, not independent prosecutors, decide whether their soldiers go to trial for crimes – a scenario critics say allows top officers to protect offenders.
Over the past several months, Rumsfeld’s office has not responded to repeated requests by The Post for an interview, although officials did state in writing that it was “premature” to say changes are needed in handling of sexual assaults. Officials did not respond to a request Monday for comment.
Victim-advocacy organizations have called on survivors and advocates across the country in recent days to phone members of Congress in support for public hearings.
A petition drive also is under way at requesting hearings.
That petition calls for a “public outcry” for long-overdue reforms. It asks for Congress to revise military law, provide better victim services and repeal laws that prevent victims from suing the military.
“The bottom line is that any abuse reported to military officials is met with the same response,” said Beth Hills, an advocate who organized the petition drive. “Reprisal against these women should be shut down immediately. It must stop.”
On Saturday, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, announced that the Senate Armed Services Committee will hear from alleged victims of Air Force Academy sexual assaults at a special hearing.
Christine Hansen, executive director of the Miles Foundation, said Congress can further expose problems military-wide.
“We are hopeful that the U.S. Congress’ interest in the issue of sexual assault and domestic violence in the military will expand beyond the academy,” Hansen said. “We’re hopeful that hearings would include not only representatives from the Pentagon and service branches, and contractors, but advocates who work with them directly, as well as the victims and survivors themselves.”
Amy Herdy can be reached at 303-820-1752. Miles Moffeit can be reached at 303-820-1415 or mmoffeit@denverpost.com.
