Commit rape within a federal venue or jurisdiction, and here is what you are facing (in terms of federal sentencing guidelines): “The sentencing guideline in cases of criminal sexual abuse is placed at base offense level 30, meaning a minimum sentence of 97 months imprisonment and a maximum sentence of 210 months imprisonment if convicted.
“In cases of aggravated sexual abuse as defined by Title 18, Section 2241 of U.S. Code, the base offense level jumps to 38, increasing the standard sentencing guidelines from anywhere between 235 months imprisonment all the way up to a life sentence.
“The base sentence is also increased by four levels if the victim was abducted, sustained life threatening injury, or was younger than the age of 12. If the victim sustained non-life threatening injury, the base offense level increases by two to three levels. If the victim was under the care of a correctional facility, or was coerced to travel or was coerced through a computer, the base offense level is increased by two levels.” Ehow.com. Unless you are a member of the U.S. Armed forces and commit such a sexual crime on a military base. Then, you probably walks away with little more than a slap on the wrist.
“At U.S. military bases in Japan, most service members found culpable in sex crimes in recent years did not go to prison, according to internal Department of Defense documents. Instead, in a review of hundreds of cases filed in America's largest overseas military installation, offenders were fined, demoted, restricted to their bases or removed from the military… In about 30 cases, a letter of reprimand was the only punishment.
“More than 1,000 records, obtained by The Associated Press through the Freedom of Information Act, describe hundreds of cases in graphic detail, painting a disturbing picture of how senior American officers prosecute and punish troops accused of sex crimes. The handling of allegations verged on the chaotic, with seemingly strong cases often reduced to lesser charges. In two rape cases, commanders overruled recommendations to court-martial and dropped the charges instead.
“Even when military authorities agreed a crime had been committed, the suspect was unlikely to serve time. Of 244 service members whose punishments were detailed in the records, only a third of them were incarcerated.” AOL.com, February 9th. As an ultra-conservative House of Representatives is loath to let sex crime prosecutions occur outside the chain of command – where a senior commander can, with the waive of a pen, erase any meaningful conviction and punishment from what is a very serious crime elsewhere in the federal system – women in the military are beginning to back off a system that seems to be hell-bent on denying them the same level of justice available to women in the rest of the United States.
“More than 1,000 records, obtained by The Associated Press through the Freedom of Information Act, describe hundreds of cases in graphic detail, painting a disturbing picture of how senior American officers prosecute and punish troops accused of sex crimes. The handling of allegations verged on the chaotic, with seemingly strong cases often reduced to lesser charges. In two rape cases, commanders overruled recommendations to court-martial and dropped the charges instead.
“Even when military authorities agreed a crime had been committed, the suspect was unlikely to serve time. Of 244 service members whose punishments were detailed in the records, only a third of them were incarcerated.” AOL.com, February 9th. As an ultra-conservative House of Representatives is loath to let sex crime prosecutions occur outside the chain of command – where a senior commander can, with the waive of a pen, erase any meaningful conviction and punishment from what is a very serious crime elsewhere in the federal system – women in the military are beginning to back off a system that seems to be hell-bent on denying them the same level of justice available to women in the rest of the United States.
The record across the various uniformed services is abysmal: “The analysis of the reported sex crimes, filed between 2005 and early 2013, shows a pattern of random and inconsistent judgments:
“-The Marines were far more likely than other branches to send offenders to prison, with 53 prison sentences out of 270 cases. By contrast, of the Navy's 203 cases, more than 70 were court-martialed or punished in some way. Only 15 were sentenced to time behind bars.
-The Air Force was the most lenient. Of 124 sex crimes, the only punishment for 21 offenders was a letter of reprimand.
-Victims increasingly declined to cooperate with investigators or recanted, a sign they may have been losing confidence in the system. In 2006, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which handles the Navy and Marine Corps, reported 13 such cases; in 2012, it was 28.” AOL.com.
“-The Marines were far more likely than other branches to send offenders to prison, with 53 prison sentences out of 270 cases. By contrast, of the Navy's 203 cases, more than 70 were court-martialed or punished in some way. Only 15 were sentenced to time behind bars.
-The Air Force was the most lenient. Of 124 sex crimes, the only punishment for 21 offenders was a letter of reprimand.
-Victims increasingly declined to cooperate with investigators or recanted, a sign they may have been losing confidence in the system. In 2006, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which handles the Navy and Marine Corps, reported 13 such cases; in 2012, it was 28.” AOL.com.
We should be ashamed of ourselves and the “bury your head in the sand” attitude of too many of our members of Congress. “Taken together, the cases illustrate how far military leaders have to go to reverse a spiraling number of sexual assault reports. The records also may give weight to members of Congress pushing to strip senior officers of their authority to decide whether serious crimes, including sexual assault cases, go to trial.
“‘How many more rapes do we have to endure to wait and see what reforms are needed?’ asked Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., chair of the Senate Armed Services personnel subcommittee. She leads a vocal group of lawmakers from both political parties who argue that further reforms to the military's legal system are needed.
“Air Force Col. Alan Metzler, deputy director of the Defense Department's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, said the department ‘has been very transparent that we do have a problem.’ He said a raft of changes in military law is creating a culture where victims trust that their allegations will be taken seriously and perpetrators will be punished.
“The number of sexual assault cases taken to courts-martial has grown steadily - from 42 percent in 2009 to 68 percent in 2012, according to DOD figures. In 2012, of the 238 service members convicted, 74 percent served time.
“[Matters in some of our overseas installations often are worse than the general statistics.] That trend is not reflected in the Japan cases. Out of 473 sexual assault allegations within Navy and Marine Corps units, just 116, or 24 percent, ended up in courts-martial. In the Navy, one case in 2012 led to court-martial, compared to 13 in which commanders used non-judicial penalties instead.” AOL.com. How do you feel about this laxity in prosecuting military sex crimes? Feel like telling your Congress person how you feel? Do it!
“‘How many more rapes do we have to endure to wait and see what reforms are needed?’ asked Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., chair of the Senate Armed Services personnel subcommittee. She leads a vocal group of lawmakers from both political parties who argue that further reforms to the military's legal system are needed.
“Air Force Col. Alan Metzler, deputy director of the Defense Department's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, said the department ‘has been very transparent that we do have a problem.’ He said a raft of changes in military law is creating a culture where victims trust that their allegations will be taken seriously and perpetrators will be punished.
“The number of sexual assault cases taken to courts-martial has grown steadily - from 42 percent in 2009 to 68 percent in 2012, according to DOD figures. In 2012, of the 238 service members convicted, 74 percent served time.
“[Matters in some of our overseas installations often are worse than the general statistics.] That trend is not reflected in the Japan cases. Out of 473 sexual assault allegations within Navy and Marine Corps units, just 116, or 24 percent, ended up in courts-martial. In the Navy, one case in 2012 led to court-martial, compared to 13 in which commanders used non-judicial penalties instead.” AOL.com. How do you feel about this laxity in prosecuting military sex crimes? Feel like telling your Congress person how you feel? Do it!
I’m Peter Dekom, and if we don’t fight for justice when it seems to be violated, how long before you yourself are denied justice as well?
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