Leeanna Rossi: Military sexual assaults: The punishments
U.S. Navy veteran Leeanna Rossi writes:
Last in a three-part series
As noted in previous articles, our military has a real problem with violence against others. This problem includes not only drug abuse, alcoholism and murder but also sexually based crimes committed against both adults and children.
In the past, few sexual assaults were considered for court-martial proceedings. Under pressure, each branch is now making an effort to actively address this problem. The two branches leading the way are the U.S. Navy (USN) and the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC). Specifically, both are not only willing to prosecute such crimes but are also posting their results online for all to see.
Court-martials, whether general or special, are military proceedings to determine the guilt or innocence of military personnel charged with specific crimes. Furthermore, these proceeding are conducted in secret and never made public. This is why the recent decision to publish such proceedings is ground breaking.
