Grassley calls for change in handling of military sexual assault

CEDAR RAPIDS - Sen. Chuck Grassley is championing legislation to take the handling of sexual assault cases out of the hands of the military, after reading an inspector general's report that an Army general retaliated against a National Guard officer for reporting her rape by a more senior officer.

'This is a perfect example of why it needs to come out of the chain of command and set up a separate prosecution unit for these rapists,” the Iowa Republican told reporters Wednesday.

The Department of Defense inspector general office's finding is unprecedented, Grassley said, because it's the first time it has substantiated whistleblower reprisal for reporting a sexual assault.

The inspector general found that after a lieutenant colonel commanding a military police battalion reported being raped by a more senior officer, Brigadier General Charles Viet issued her an unfavorable and career-damaging officer evaluation.

'It kind of fits with Gillibrand's legislation that we're trying to get into the Department of Defense authorization up this week to make sure we take the sexual assault cases out of the chain of command, so generals can't interfere like this,” Grassley said. Earlier this week, Grassley joined New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand at a news conference calling for passage of her Military Justice Improvement Act 'to help make sure sexual assault is treated as the serious crime it is.”

Her amendment the National Defense Authorization Act would set up an impartial, fair and accountable military justice system. It's necessary to 'make sure the person who committed the crime is convicted and pays the penalty,” Grassley said.

It's also needed to protect the victim of military sexual assault, he said.

'Today they are discouraged from doing it because the person who is raped is treated more harshly than the person who did the raping,” Grassley said.

Grassley also claimed the military has lied to senators last year when it claimed local prosecutors lacked interest in prosecuting military sexual assault cases. However, Grassley said a report from the advocacy group Protect Our Defenders and reporting by the Associated Press show the Pentagon appeared to be manipulating the facts.

'They misled us. We've been lied to,” he said.

A 2014 study of military sexual assault found that more than 20,000 of the 1.3 million active duty members- 1 percent of men and 4.9 percent of women - had been sexually assaulted in the previous year.

Gillibrand's examination of 329 sexual assault cases in 2014 found that 22 percent went to trial with about 10 percent resulting in a sexual-assault conviction. Another 5 percent result in conviction on another charge.