ESPN: The U.S. military’s enemy within
ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap spoke with veteran Ariana Klay, and Attorney Susan Burke about the epidemic of sexual assault in the military in an episode of E:60:
The culture, they told “E:60,” has been enabled by the U.S. military’s system of broken justice that allows the military to attract abusers while providing them a safe haven.
The three Naval Academy football players stand accused of assaulting a 20-year-old female midshipman at an off-campus party in April of 2012. Their case came to pre-trial hearing at the Washington Navy Yard in August. Over five days and 30 hours, defense attorneys questioned the accuser. Many of their questions likely would have been disallowed in a civilian court. They asked if she wore underwear to the party, and if she “grinds” when dancing. They asked how wide she opens her mouth during oral sex.
The case involving the three Naval Academy football players also has added to the awareness of what victim advocates describe as an epidemic of soldier-on-soldier sexual abuse in the U.S. military.
