That is so ironic, because the only one who achieved vaginal penetration with his organ was allowed to go free. He dodged a bullet. However, on the other hand, the cadet who used his fists in the act of sexual assault never got further than heavy petting and massaging of the genitalia.
The Cressy and Claxton hearings concluded with very different results. Cressy's accuser said she passed out on his bed, then awoke to find a man touching and then having sex with her. She testified that she kissed him before blacking out and never said "no" -- and while she recalled trying to push his hands away, the mitigating evidence, combined with a two-day delay before she reported having been assaulted, appear to have been factors in the Convening Authority's, Brigadier General Richard Clark's, decision to drop the charges against him.
It appears that force and the use of force will be the new battle ground in the battle between women and the military when it comes to disposing of rape and sexual assault allegations.
In a major law suit filed by 8 present and former US Marine Corps female officers, the use of physical force is being challenged as an unnecessary element in the proof of the offense. The women argue that proof of force should not be necessary in the modern world. They argue that modern rapists are more methodical and patient; they wait for the drugs or alcohol to lower the females capacity to give or withhold consent. Once the ability to give informed consent is so impaired then the women can be raped and the rapist is left with plausible deniability if the case is prosecuted.
The women and their attorney seek to change the UCMJ and the military male-dominated culture on the issue of force in the conduct of rape and sexual assault. They want to rewrite Article 120 of the UCMJ to remove proof of the use of force as an element of the crime.
In the Webster Smith Case force was not an issue. All of the sexual encounters were found to be consensual. The Coast Guard prosecutor was reduced to trying to prove that psychological coercion was used to persuade a female to take nude pictures and perform a sexual act. Amazingly this woman's reputation in the community since high school was that of a person with easy virtue who delivered the good faster than Federal Express. The very nature of her secret that was at the heart of the alleged coercion was about a sexual tryst with an enlisted man from another branch of the service. And to top it all off, the woman was testifying under a grant of immunity. Truly amazing, it is hard to make this stuff up.
A press conference was held at the National Press Conference Tuesday March 6, 2012 to announce a new lawsuit being filed in the US District Court in Washington, DC on behalf of eight current and former members of the Navy and Marine Corps. The lawsuit, filed by Susan L. Burke of Burke PLLC, charges that the "laws designed to reduce rape, sexual assault and harassment in the Navy and Marine Corps directly and seriously harmed Plaintiffs and others who have reported rape and sexual assault and have challenged sexual harassment. Rather than being respected and appreciated for reporting crimes and unprofessional conduct, Plaintiffs and others who report are branded 'troublemakers,' endure egregious and blatant retaliation, and are often forced out of military service."
The lead plaintiffs, Adriana Klay and Elle Helmer, stationed at the central command headquarters of the Marines in Washington, DC, are both former Marine officers. Klay was a merit scholar and is an honors graduate of the US Naval Academy. She was sexually harassed and gang raped by a senior Marine Corps officer and his civilian friend in order to "humiliate her." Elle Helmer, the Public Affairs Officer and Official Spokesperson for the Marines, was ordered to participate in a "pub crawl" by her immediate superior officer and then raped by him.
Speakers at the press conference included Susan Burke, Eleanor Smeal, Anu Bhagwati, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Service Women's Action Network (SWAN), Linda Hallman, Executive Director of American Association of University Women (AAUW), Nancy Parrish, President of Protect our Defenders, and Colonel Ann Wright, who is retired from the military.
“Although defendants testified before Congress and elsewhere that they have ‘zero tolerance’ for rape and sexual assault, their conduct and the facts demonstrate the opposite: They have a high tolerance for sexual predators in their ranks, and ‘zero tolerance’ for those who report rape, sexual assault and harassment,” according to the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington.
The suit outlines a pattern of abuse and portrays, in grim detail, the alleged experiences of the eight female service members — two former Marine Corps officers, one active duty enlisted Marine, one former enlisted member of the Marine Corps and four former enlisted members of the Navy.
“At first it was easy to laugh it off,” plaintiff Elle Helmer, one of the former officers, said about her superiors’ advances.
“When you finally said, you know, I’m really not interested, I’d rather we be friends — that’s when you became the target. They hated you for standing up for yourself,” she told HLN’s Jane Velez-Mitchell on Tuesday night.
The lawsuit alleges Helmer was raped by her superior at his office in March 2006 after a required pub crawl.
She told reporters at the National Press Club in Washington earlier in the day that she hoped by going public other victims would be encouraged to speak out.
“It’s the first time I’ve had a voice in six years, so pardon if it’s a little wobbly,” said Helmer.
She was joined by Ariana Klay, another former Marine Corps officer and plaintiff, who served in Iraq in 2008 and 2009.
In August 2010, Klay was “gang-raped” by a senior officer and his civilian friend at her Washington home, the suit contends. The officer allegedly threatened to kill Klay.
She reported the rapes and the officer was eventually convicted in a military court of adultery and indecent language, and given 45 days in military confinement, Klay said.
“Their stance was there were two that said it (sex) was consensual, despite the death threat. That’s two against one. So by that logic, the more people you’re gang-raped by the less your case is,” she told Velez-Mitchell.
The Marine Corps responded to Klay and Helmer’s allegations in a written statement Tuesday that said their respective cases had been properly investigated and handled.
“Federal law and judicial rulings require commanders in all services, including the Marine Corps, to balance needs of alleged victims with the constitutional rights of service members accused of crimes,” it read.
Smeal asserted, "The women's movement is determined to end this wonton violence against women in the armed services. The definition of rape in the military must change to comply with the new FBI definition, which has recognized that force need not be present, but rather in modern rape alcohol and drugs are used to subdue the victim. The cover-up for a few predator abusers in the military is injuring women, men, and the armed services themselves."
The Pentagon's "Fiscal Year 2010 Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military" indicated that approximately 3,000 women experienced sexual assault in fiscal year 2008, which is a 9 percent increase from the previous year. Experts say that the real rate of sexual assault in the military is five times report incidence. Because of the high level of retaliation, victims are afraid to report. For women in the military in Iraq and Afghanistan, the rate of sexual assaults by US military personnel increased by 25 percent.
According to a 2003 study by the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, at least one-third of all women veterans have experienced rape or sexual assault during their service primarily from US service personnel, and thirty percent of military women experience domestic violence. Moreover, rape occurs in the military nearly twice as often as in the civilian world.
According to the most recent Defense Department study, more than 19,000 incidents of unwanted sexual contact are estimated to have occurred in 2010, though less than 3,000 of those events were reported.
In 2010, less than 21% of reported cases went to trial. Of the 529 alleged perpetrators who were prosecuted, 53% were convicted, according to the 2011 Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, which is part of the Defense Department.
“As leaders of this department we are committed to doing everything we can to ensure the safety, dignity and well being of our people. One sexual assault is one too many,” Defense Department spokeswoman Cynthia Smith said in response to the lawsuit.
As a result of the pending litigation, she was unable to comment directly on the allegations.
“Because sexual assault cases are some of the toughest cases to investigate and prosecute, the department has increased funding for investigators and judge advocates to receive specialized training,” said Smith.
The lawsuit was filed less than two months after Defense Secretary Leon Panetta outlined new measures targeting sexual assaults against U.S military personnel.
In January, he promised increased funding to train military investigators and judge advocates about sexual assault cases, stressing the military has a “zero tolerance policy” for such crimes.
“Our men and women in uniform put their lives on the line every day to try to keep America safe,” Panetta said then. “We have a moral duty to keep them safe from those who would attack their dignity and their honor.”
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There's been a lot of talk about Fox News commentator Liz Trotta's comments that women in the military should "expect" to be raped as part of the job requirement. She went on to say that when it comes to combat "...basic instincts rule. The niceties of male, female interaction fade in this arena and any scientist will tell you that testosterone rules."
The truth is, what Liz Trotta said needs to be heard, because it reflects the thinking of far too many in the military -- thinking that has helped create an epidemic of sexual violence.
Trotta may have been the one to say it out loud, on national television, but there are far too many in positions of power who silently agree.
While sexual violence in the military is finally being recognized at the very highest ranks -- Secretary of Defense Panetta himself calls the problem "totally unacceptable" -- recent data shows the problem is actually getting worse.
The military's own Sexual Assault Prevention Program is so antiquated it implies if you don't find a buddy to walk home with you and you are attacked, it's your own fault.
This mentality of blaming the victim is all too common, and it's part of a culture that is pervasive throughout the military.
These horrific and deeply disturbing stories that follow underscore the need for change on this issue.
After raping her, Sailor Terri Odom's superior told her that she wasn't the first and wouldn't be the last. When she reported her rape and torture, she was threatened with arrest and discharge. Aviation Commander Darchelle was told by NCIS that they had never had such strong evidence to support prosecution -- but her rapist was still found not guilty. Sailor Heath Phillips was gang raped, repeatedly, only to be told he was a liar when he tried to report the assaults. His assailants were eventually discharged when they were caught raping another sailor. Discharged -- not prosecuted.
These stories are echoed in a new lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Washington that accuses the military of a "high tolerance for sexual predators in their ranks" and fostering a hostile environment that discourages victims from coming forward and retaliates against them when they do. Marine Lieutenant Ariana Klay, a Naval Academy graduate and Iraq war veteran, was gang raped by a superior officer and his friend and then told she had invited the attack because she wore make-up and running shorts. Incredibly, Klay's superior officer/rapist was later convicted of adultery.
These are the stories of just some of the estimated 500,000 active duty and veteran survivors of rape and sexual assault. Not only have they been violently assaulted and raped, they've been let down by an institution they swore to defend. An institution that defines itself in terms of honor and integrity, but which acts with very little of either when it comes to handling rape or sexual assault in its ranks.
Survivors of sexual violence in the military are victimized first by their assailant and then again by a broken system. Retribution, denial of appropriate medical care, and a total failure of justice are the norm -- not the exception. This broken system, which allows rape and sexual assault to go virtually unchecked is undermining readiness, unit cohesion, and morale.
The way things are now, the U.S. military fails to protect its most important resource -- our sons and daughters who serve. Sexual predators in the military are unafraid, because they know an unwritten code shields them. In her ignorance, Liz Trotta shone a bright light on this ugly, damaging truth. Like Trotta, the military, for too long, has been an apologist for predators and rapists, and perpetuated a culture without responsibility or accountability.
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