Attention

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not represent our advertisers

Monday, January 04, 2016

Pentagon: Hundreds of military kids sexually abused annually

WASHINGTON (AP) — Cpl. Aaron C. Masa became fast friends with a fellow Marine during field training in North Carolina. But behind his buddy’s back, Masa was sexually abusing his friend’s 3-year-old stepdaughter. He also took sexually explicit photos of the girl and the Marine’s infant daughter.

A military judge convicted Masa last year of sexual abuse of a child and production of child pornography, according to court records and other documents detailing the case. Under the terms of a pretrial agreement, he pleaded guilty and received 30 years in prison.

In total, incidents involving sexual assault in which the children of service members are victims occur hundreds of times each year, data the Defense Department provided exclusively to The Associated Press show. The abuse is committed most often by male enlisted troops, according to the data, followed by family members.

The figures offer greater insight into the sexual abuse of children committed by service members, a problem of uncertain scale due to a lack of transparency into the military’s legal proceedings. With more than 1 million military dependents, the number of cases appears statistically small. But for a profession that prides itself on honor and discipline, any episodes of abuse cast a pall.

More

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is what happens when you lower the standard to get your quota. THE FEW THE PROUD! !! NOT - MORE THE FOUL.

Anonymous said...

Today's military families do not resemble the military families of yesteryear.

America's rot is also evident in the services. The affect of terrible public education is also quite evident.