Fewer sexual assaults reported at military academies in 2012-13, report says
By Barbara Starr
Reports of sexual assaults at the three military service academies decreased for the 2012-13 academic year, but the Air Force Academy continued to have significantly more reports than the Army or Navy schools, according to a new report.
According to the report to be released Friday, the total number of sexual assault reports made in that academic year for all the schools was 70, down from 80 the previous year. It comes as several high profile cases of misconduct in the military have come to light.
Air Force lieutenant colonel acquitted of groping woman in parking lot
By CNN's Alison Harding
The former head of an Air Force sexual assault prevention program was acquitted Wednesday of an assault charge stemming from an incident in Arlington, Virginia, last spring, his lawyer confirmed to CNN.
Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski, 42, was arrested in May and accused of grabbing a woman's buttocks and breasts in a parking lot in Arlington County, not far from the Pentagon. A police report said the unidentified woman fought off her assailant, who appeared intoxicated.
Krusinski was initially charged with sexual battery, but prosecutors later changed that charge to assault and battery, according to CNN affiliate WJLA.
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Navy says sex at root of more than a third of its court cases
By Larry Shaughnessy
No other crime, not even drugs, leads to more court cases in the U.S. Navy than sex offenses, according to an internal report out this week.
The Navy reported there had been 135 courts-martial involving sailors around the world in the first six months of 2013 and about 36% involved a sex-related charge.
The report covers charges like adultery or attempted indecent acts up to sex assault and rape.
The report was conducted at the insistence of Navy Secretary Ray Mabus.
First on CNN: Navy, Marine Corps hope some publicity helps deter sexual assaults
The Navy and Marine Corps will begin publishing their own versions of a sex offenders list as part of an effort to crack down on sexual assaults, CNN has learned.
Both branches will start posting the results of courts-martial, including sexual assault proceedings in the services, on their home pages.
Convictions and acquittals will be listed, according to a Navy official who described the plan to CNN. He declined to be named until it is officially announced.
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Charges possible in Navy football sex assault claim
By Barbara Starr
Up to three U.S. Naval Academy football players could in coming days face charges relating to an alleged sex assault of a fellow midshipman, a Navy official told CNN.
Academy Superintendent Vice Adm. Michael Miller has ordered an Article 32 proceeding in which evidence is presented during a hearing to a military legal officer, who decides whether to proceed with a court-martial, the official said.
The official, who declined to be named, would not say if all three athletes could face charges.
The case comes with concern mounting about sex abuse reports in the armed forces.
Naval Academy sex-assault probe advances
By Barbara Starr
Investigators have completed their probe of allegations that three U.S. Naval Academy football players were involved in an alleged sex assault of a female midshipmen almost a year ago, according to a Navy spokesman.
Now the academy superintendent, Vice Admiral Michael Miller, will review the Naval Criminal Investigative Service's report and decide how to proceed, said Navy spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Ryan Perry.
According to a Defense Department official, the midshipmen were first accused by the female student at the time of the alleged incident, but she dropped her complaint a few months later.
She revived the complaint this year and the Navy proceeded with an investigation.
Budget furloughs won't impact military sex assault prevention unit
By Larry Shaughnessy
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey face two crises - an increase in sex assault claims within the military and heavy budget cuts.
But they said on Wednesday that military staffing reductions due to forced budget cuts under sequestration would not impact an initiative aimed at combating sex assault.
Civilians central to the Pentagon's Sexual Assault Prevention Response Program will be exempt from furloughs that are a consequence of spending cuts.
Army sergeant accused of videotaping female cadets at West Point
By Barbara Starr
A U.S. Army sergeant first class stationed at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point has been charged with allegedly secretly videotaping female cadets in their shower and latrine areas, according to Army officials.
Sgt. 1st Class Michael McClendon was charged May 14 with 13 "specifications" or allegations of "indecent conduct" in making videos between July 2009 and May 2012. Army criminal investigators are now contacting more than a dozen women who might have been videotaped, according to Army spokesman George Wright.
Wright said the investigation has been going on since May 2012, but charges were not made until last week because the Army was still trying to assemble computer evidence and identify the women involved.
Facebook page comes down after threat to lawmaker
By Barbara Starr
A Facebook page with sexually explicit comments denigrating female Marines was taken down after a congresswoman who complained about it was threatened on that site, an aide to the lawmaker told CNN.
Rep. Jackie Speier, D-California, made public a letter she wrote to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos on Wednesday about "F'N Wook" and others like it, asking them to review them and take action.
A Speier staffer told CNN on Thursday the page was taken down after her office made Facebook aware of threatening remarks about her that the aide said appeared on that site.
Accused Air Force officer had training for sex assault prevention post
By Larry Shaughnessy
An Air Force officer charged with sexual battery stemming from an incident in Northern Virginia had received training for his job heading up a military unit aimed at preventing sex assaults, military records show.
Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski, a 1994 graduate of the Air Force Academy who served tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan, was arrested early on Sunday for allegedly grabbing a woman's buttocks and breasts in a parking lot in Arlington County not far from the Pentagon.
A police report said the unidentified woman fought off her assailant, who appeared intoxicated.
Krusinski, 41, is due in an Arlington County court on Thursday after local officials refused a request from the Air Force for it to handle the case.
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