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Reports of sexual assault in military go up 24 percent

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published March 22, 2007

WASHINGTON - Reports of sexual assaults in the military increased by about 24 percent last year and more than twice as many offenders were punished.

There were nearly 3,000 sexual assault reports filed in 2006, compared with almost 2,400 the previous year, a Pentagon report said Wednesday. Action was taken against 780 people.

The cases involved members of the military who were victims or accused of the assaults. The military counts rape, nonconsensual sodomy, indecent assault and attempts to commit any of those as sexual assault, though the report contained no data on how many of each were reported.

This is the third year the military has compiled these statistics. The reporting methods have changed each year, however, making comparisons of the annual reports difficult.

Of the 2,947 sexual assaults reported last year, 756 were initially filed under a program that allows victims to report the incident and receive health care or counseling services but does not notify law enforcement or commanders.

According to the new report, more than 1,400 investigations into cases dating to 2004 were completed last year. In slightly more than half, commanders took no action, most often because the charges were not substantiated or evidence was lacking.

When action was taken, more than one-third - or 292 individuals - were court-martialed. An additional 243 received nonjudicial punishment and 245 were discharged or received some other administrative action. Nonjudicial punishments can include reprimand letters or demotions.

Pentagon officials have said that sexual assaults often go unreported. They have attributed the rise in number in part to the vigorous effort to encourage victims to report the crime.

[Last modified March 22, 2007, 02:01:34]