Daily Tidings: Ashland Police Department advises U.S. military on sexual assault cases
Protect Our Defenders Communications Director Brian Purchia is featured in this article from Daily Tidings:
Brian Purchia, communications manager for the national Protect Our Defenders organization, said APD has adopted good, common-sense methods for handling reports of sexual assault.
“It’s great that they’re putting these efforts forward on behalf of victims,” he said.
Protect Our Defenders advocates for the rights of sexual assault victims in the military. The organization testified before the Response Systems to Adult Sexual Assault Crimes Panel in November.
The military judicial system has key differences from the civilian judicial system and needs to be reformed, according to Protect Our Defenders.
In the military, the accused’s commander decides whether a case should go to court martial. The commander also appoints the jury, the organization said.
