GAO probe of military sex assaults to open next month

GAO probe of military sex assaults to open next month


The Associated Press



NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The investigative arm of Congress will look at how the military and its academies deal with sexual assaults after allegations that such cases were not properly handled, officials said.

The investigation follows the first court-martial in the 130-year history of the Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut. Cadet Webster Smith was acquitted of rape in June but served five months in prison for extorting a female classmate for sexual favors.

The nation’s military academies have faced more scrutiny since 2003, when women at the Air Force Academy in Colorado alleged that they had been sexually assaulted by fellow cadets over the previous decade and were either ignored or ostracized by commanders when they came forward.




The review is expected to start in January and take about a year.

“I think it’s a wonderful thing,” said Susan Stopper, whose daughter, former cadet Caitlin Stopper, testified before a congressional panel that academy administrators suggested she was to blame when she accused another student of assaulting her in the barracks. “It’s somebody who should be impartial. That’s the only way you’re able to make changes.”

Rep. Chris Shays, a Connecticut Republican, asked for the review after holding a congressional hearing last summer. Shays asked the Government Accountability Office to determine the number of sexual assault cases in the military and at the Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard academies over the past five years and to assess the disposition of the cases.

“We still don’t have a handle on it,” Shays said. “It’s not the problem it was, but there is still a lot of room for improvement.”

About 10 sexual assault cases have been referred to the national security subcommittee that held the hearing, Shays said. He asked the GAO to contact them for the investigation.

Shays also asked the GAO to look at how the military decides whether to use administrative hearings or court-martials to resolve abuse claims. He questioned why there had been a delay in appointing members to the Defense Task Force on Sexual Assault in the Military Services.

The GAO agreed in October to Shays’ request for the review but said it did not plan to interview the assault victims who contacted the committee, citing privacy rights and legal issues.

Former Air Force Academy Cadet Elizabeth L. Davis, who told the hearing she was “raped and assaulted repeatedly” while at the academy, said women who report crimes are often threatened, degraded and driven out.

Shays said the military needs to own up to past mistakes.

“Their records need to be totally cleared and they need to receive an apology,” Shays said.

A telephone message was left with a Defense Department spokeswoman Monday.

Military academy officials said last summer they have made solid progress in curbing sexual assaults on campuses. Military officials said they have worked hard to improve critical areas such as victim support and confidentiality while providing training for all cadets to prevent sexual harassment and assault.

According to the Defense Department, the military services have set up sexual assault program offices at all major installations and trained more than 1,000 response coordinators and victim advocates.

Reports of sexual assaults in the military increased by nearly 40 percent last year, the Pentagon said in March, attributing the increase at least partly to a new program that encourages victims to come forward.

The military has also come under fire for repeated problems with sexual abuse in units stationed abroad in Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Bahrain, and at military installations. Detainee abuse allegations have also included sexual assaults.

A survey by the Veterans Affairs Department showed that six in 10 women who served in the National Guard and Reserve said they were sexually harassed or assaulted.