The policy also applies to cadets at West Point. Image: stephenkirsh/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffSoldiers now have two new safeguards intended to protect them in instances where they are victims of crime – the first is a kind of amnesty policy for victims that come forward, and the other is a new independent prosecution office.
The Safe-to-Report policy ensures that sexual assault victims are not punished for “minor collateral misconduct” they might have committed when the assaults took place.
The Office of Special Trial Counsel would serve as independent prosecutors in cases involving murder, rape and child abuse. These lawyers would handle investigations, referrals, trial-level litigation and prosecution in such instances.
Their implementation follows guidelines set forth in the 2021 defense-spending bill, and applies to any service members who are victimized by sexual assault – to include cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Minor misconduct includes:
• Drinking while underage when an assault takes place.
• An unprofessional relationship with the subject at the time of the assault.
• Violation of curfew, off-limits, barracks policies or similar matters at the time of the assault
Commanders would have leeway to consider such factors as: the victim’s age; the perpetrator’s authority over the victim; hazing, stalking, harassment, coercion and influences to engage in sexual behavior; command knowledge of collateral misconduct; and whether a victim engaged in misconduct “as a coping mechanism to alleviate sexual assault trauma symptoms.”
The Office of Special Trial Counsel would report directly to Army Secretary Christine E. Wormuth, and provide independent legal services in cases of murder, manslaughter, rape, sexual assault, rape of a child, sexual assault of a child, other sexual misconduct, kidnapping, domestic violence, stalking, retaliation, child pornography and wrongful broadcast.
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