The estimated number of military personnel who may have been sexually assaulted rose by nearly one-third over the past two years, according to a Pentagon report scheduled for release Tuesday, the latest indicator of the Defense Department’s struggle to cope with sex crimes.
About 26,000 military members said in anonymous surveys that they experienced “unwanted sexual contact” last year, up from about 19,300 in 2010, according to a Defense Department behavioral science study.
Military officials said they are concerned that most troops may be reluctant to press charges or formally report sexual assault to authorities. The Pentagon recorded 3,374 sexual assault reports last year, compared with 3,192 in 2011, according to a separate report made public Tuesday.
Meantime, lawmakers singled out the Air Force on Tuesday for its botched handling of sex crimes, expressing incredulity that an officer in charge of the service’s sexual assault prevention efforts had been arrested for sexual battery.
“This arrest speaks volumes about the status and effectiveness of the Department of Defense’s efforts to address the plague of sexual assaults in the military,” Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services committee, said at a hearing with Air Force leadership.
Gen. Mark Welsh, the Air Force chief of staff, said military lawyers would request jurisdiction in the case involving Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski, the chief of the Air Force’s sexual assault prevention branch. Krusinski was arrested by Arlington County police early Sunday and charged with sexual battery.
Police said Krusinski was drunk about 12:30 a.m. when he approached a woman in a Crystal City parking lot and grabbed her breasts and buttocks. The woman fended off her assailant, but “then he attempted to attack her again, and she called 911,” said Dustin Sternbeck, an Arlington police spokesman.
Welsh said he was “appalled” by the arrest and that “it is unacceptable that this occurs anytime or anywhere in our Air Force.” He said that Arlington County prosecutors would make a final decision about whether to grant jurisdiction in the case to the military.
Krusinski is scheduled for arraignment Thursday in Arlington. His booking photo depicted him with a cut under his left eye and contusions on his upper lip. Police said that the victim did not know her attacker.
An Air Force spokeswoman said Krusinski was “removed from his position immediately” as soon as his superiors learned of his arrest Monday.
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) pressed Air Force leaders on whether Krusinski had the proper “credentials” to head the Air Force’s sexual assault prevention branch and if his military record contained any troubling signals.
“Clearly, the accusation is he was drunk and sexually assaulted a stranger in a parking lot,” she said. “It is hard for me to believe” that his record was spotless.
Welsh replied that “there is no indication in [Krusinski’s] professional record or his workplace” that would suggest a problem.
The arrest angered Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, who called Donley on Monday evening to “express outrage and disgust” and to insist that the matter be dealt with “swiftly and decisively,” according to a Pentagon statement.
The Air Force has acknowledged that it is struggling to contain “a cancer” of sexual assault in the ranks. The service’s leadership has faced heavy scrutiny from lawmakers and advocacy groups over its judgment in handling sex-crime cases, including the rape and assault of dozens of recruits by basic-training instructors at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas.
“Within the Air Force, it has to become unacceptable culturally,” Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) told Welsh and Donley. “The culture is what you have to deal with.”
About 26,000 military members said in anonymous surveys that they experienced “unwanted sexual contact” last year, up from about 19,300 in 2010, according to a Defense Department behavioral science study.
Military officials said they are concerned that most troops may be reluctant to press charges or formally report sexual assault to authorities. The Pentagon recorded 3,374 sexual assault reports last year, compared with 3,192 in 2011, according to a separate report made public Tuesday.
Meantime, lawmakers singled out the Air Force on Tuesday for its botched handling of sex crimes, expressing incredulity that an officer in charge of the service’s sexual assault prevention efforts had been arrested for sexual battery.
“This arrest speaks volumes about the status and effectiveness of the Department of Defense’s efforts to address the plague of sexual assaults in the military,” Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services committee, said at a hearing with Air Force leadership.
Gen. Mark Welsh, the Air Force chief of staff, said military lawyers would request jurisdiction in the case involving Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski, the chief of the Air Force’s sexual assault prevention branch. Krusinski was arrested by Arlington County police early Sunday and charged with sexual battery.
Police said Krusinski was drunk about 12:30 a.m. when he approached a woman in a Crystal City parking lot and grabbed her breasts and buttocks. The woman fended off her assailant, but “then he attempted to attack her again, and she called 911,” said Dustin Sternbeck, an Arlington police spokesman.
Welsh said he was “appalled” by the arrest and that “it is unacceptable that this occurs anytime or anywhere in our Air Force.” He said that Arlington County prosecutors would make a final decision about whether to grant jurisdiction in the case to the military.
Krusinski is scheduled for arraignment Thursday in Arlington. His booking photo depicted him with a cut under his left eye and contusions on his upper lip. Police said that the victim did not know her attacker.
An Air Force spokeswoman said Krusinski was “removed from his position immediately” as soon as his superiors learned of his arrest Monday.
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) pressed Air Force leaders on whether Krusinski had the proper “credentials” to head the Air Force’s sexual assault prevention branch and if his military record contained any troubling signals.
“Clearly, the accusation is he was drunk and sexually assaulted a stranger in a parking lot,” she said. “It is hard for me to believe” that his record was spotless.
Welsh replied that “there is no indication in [Krusinski’s] professional record or his workplace” that would suggest a problem.
The arrest angered Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, who called Donley on Monday evening to “express outrage and disgust” and to insist that the matter be dealt with “swiftly and decisively,” according to a Pentagon statement.
The Air Force has acknowledged that it is struggling to contain “a cancer” of sexual assault in the ranks. The service’s leadership has faced heavy scrutiny from lawmakers and advocacy groups over its judgment in handling sex-crime cases, including the rape and assault of dozens of recruits by basic-training instructors at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas.
“Within the Air Force, it has to become unacceptable culturally,” Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) told Welsh and Donley. “The culture is what you have to deal with.”