Sexual Assault prosecution to remain with Commanders.

2014-01-31T16:51:56-05:00

Sensitive topic - but worthy of your thoughts. What do you think of the panel's conclusions?

A key subcommittee of a congressionally mandated Pentagon panel has concluded: Commanders should retain their authority to prosecute military sexual assault cases.

Response by SFC James Baber made Jan 31 at 2014 8:17 PM

2014-01-31T20:17:02-05:00

I think it is going to cause more controversy for the future, especially what has occurred in the last few years by senior commanders related to officer related cases, especially senior office related cases.

The enlisted side has been tossed to the wolves no matter who does the prosecuting, but most officers get a slap on the wrist and are allowed to retire with full benefits in almost every case. Perfect example was LTC Johnson, the one who was allowed to retire with all his benefits so his wife and family could retain their benefits.

Response by Sgt Matthew O'Donnell made Mar 7 at 2014 9:43 AM

2014-03-07T09:43:42-05:00

91% of sexual assault victims in the United States are women. This issue
doesn't affect men as it does women. Having a prosecutor charge the
service member instead of a commanding officer is going to send a bigger
message to the rest of the unit and duty station. Taking the power from
the commanding officer will take away the good soldier defense and bias
of . The service member still has rights and so does the victim. If the
defendant is found they should be charged and dishonorably discharged.

What
is in place right now doesn't seem to be working or it wouldn't be a
topic for discussion. I actually found the topic on linkedin and wanted
to see what this community had to say.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 7 at 2014 9:56 AM

2014-03-07T09:56:20-05:00

As much as I tend to side with tradition, this is not one of those areas.  The fact of the matter is that what has been in place dealing with Sexual Assault has not been working for decades.  Part of the problem with Commanders retaining authority to prosecute military sexual assault cases is that it leaves too much room for abuse and neglect.  First off, if a commander is involved or has knowledge of a sexual assault, then that commander could use command influence to sweep it under the rug.  I know this isn't always the case, but it is a possibility.<div><br></div><div>Second, as the Installation Victim Advocate, I have been to many trials for military sexual assault.  In every single one of those, the defense has used the "outstanding record" of the service member to minimize the crime they committed.  And they were right, some of these rapists are among the best at their jobs, are stellar performers at work, and have a long list of military achievements.  It kills me for that to be the defense though, because what a person does professionally and personally are two completely different things.  If that same individual was a stellar performer at work but was a habitual heroin user at night, would we have the same tolerance?  With commanders retaining UCMJ authority over sex offenders, it leaves the door wide open for these perpetrators to slip through because they are outstanding at their job, or such a nice person at work that it is unthinkable to believe they would rape someone...</div><div><br></div><div>My bottom line is that for sexual assault and other serious crime, the UCMJ authority should lie outside the command.  Commanders are not trained lawyers, investigators, or prosecutors.  They should leave that up to the professionals.</div>

Response by SPC Christopher Smith made Mar 7 at 2014 10:44 AM

2014-03-07T10:44:59-05:00

This is my own opinon, this topic is very personal for me so please excuse me if it does not seem very thought out.

I believe this was not the best move because of the Senior level Officers being tried within the past year. If at any time their cases were/are lessened because of their Commands influence, that will roll down hill and almost encourage those who have not been caught that they too will be protected by a flawed system.

I do not believe that revoking that authority from Commanders, reduces their influence or power over their units. With the panel leaving authority with the Commanders, I would think it more honorable for Commanders to relenquish that authority on their own, and make it known to their subordients.

I am not a Victims Advocate by training, but I was a Student Residental Advisor (SRA/RA) in college, I have dealt with a rape victim personally, meaning I have some of the training on dealing with a rape situation. It would be difficult for me to say go talk to the Command if I knew that the accused person was a shining star in the unit. I believe the Command should still have knowledge of the actions within their units, but should have less of a hands on roll in playing judge, jury, and executioner.

Response by PO2 Robert Hunter made Mar 16 at 2015 12:17 AM

2015-03-16T00:17:50-04:00

The MOST interesting information to come from that report was written dissenting remarks of two of the panel members who explained well the folly of maintaining prosecution of alleged rapists in the chain of command and maintaining Commanders as the final word in the outcome of a trial.