01 June 2013

Gee, Another Case Where the Chain of Command Does the Wrong Thing When Sexual Assault is Alleged

In this case, it's the Naval Academy in Annapolis:
Three football players at the U.S. Naval Academy are under investigation in an alleged sex assault involving a female midshipmen almost a year ago, according to a Defense Department official.

According to the official, the three midshipmen were first accused by her at the time of the alleged incident, but she dropped her complaint a few months after the incident. She then made a complaint again earlier this year, and the investigation is now underway by the Navy. The alleged victim's lawyer, Susan Burke, said her client has participated in wiretapping as part of the investigation at the request of NCIS.
Normally, I would not be sure if this is a military thing, or if it is a sports thing, but reading this:
In a statement to CNN, attorney Susan Burke said the woman went to an off-campus party at a "football house" in April 2012 and became intoxicated, and woke up there the next morning "with little recall" of what occurred.

"She learned from social media and from friends that three football players had claimed to have had sexual intercourse with her while incapacitated," Burke said.

She reported the incident to Navy authorities and explained that she could not provide much information because she had been intoxicated, Burke said.

Burke said the woman was disciplined for drinking and the case was closed without further action by the academy.
Leads me to believe that the problem here is not sports culture, but military culture.

At this point that non only does sexual assault need to be moved out of the chain of command under the UCMJ, but every crime not directly related to military operations and discipline needs to be moved out of the chain of command.

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