PRESS RELEASE: Protect Our Defenders Support Calls for an Independent Investigation of Sexual Assault Cases and Retaliation at United States Air Force Academy
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 21, 2014 Contact: Max Wertheimer, 415-302-1584, max@protectourdefenders.com
*** PRESS RELEASE ***
PROTECT OUR DEFENDERS SUPPORT CALLS FOR AN INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION OF SEXUAL ASSAULT CASES AND RETALIATION AT UNITED STATES AIR FORCE ACADEMY
Washington DC – Yesterday, Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and John Thune (R-SD) sent a letter to the Office of Special Counsel and the Defense Department inspector general’s office, calling to investigate claims of retaliation against an Air Force investigator and a cadet informant whose work lead to the first prosecutions of sexual assault at the United States Air Force Academy in over a decade.
According to news reports, after successfully prosecuting these sexual assault cases, the Air Force investigator, Sgt. Brandon Enos was transferred out of the academy, stripped of his badge and was told he was going to be kicked out of the Air Force. Sgt. Enos fought his dismissal, and is now seeking a medical discharge from the military.
The cadet informant, Eric Thomas was expelled for misconduct that he claims was sanctioned by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI) – the office that both he and Sgt. Enos reported to when investigating these cases.
Protect Our Defenders President Nancy Parrish today released the following statement:
“We applaud Senators Gillibrand and Thune for recognizing the need for an independent investigation into these alarming allegations of misconduct at the Academy and retaliation by Academy leaders towards those who have sought to expose it. We encourage the independent investigation to include a review of all AF academy cases brought before the AF IG during this time period. With the highest rate of sexual assault reports of any service Academy for four straight years, it is clear the Academy has failed on its own to address the elements that make it an oppressive environment for victims and a target-rich environment for sexual predators. These latest allegations, if substantiated, serve as yet another example of the failure of the military to police itself, and of the desperate need for a professional and impartial military justice system.”
The inability to police itself is a recurring theme at the Academy. A 2003 panel reviewing sexual misconduct allegations at the Air Force Academy states:
“The panel is also concerned about the seeming inability of the Air Force to adequately investigate itself. While the Air Force General Counsel’s Working Group conducted a thorough investigation of the Academy, it completely failed to address one of the most significant contributors to the current controversy – ineffective oversight by Air Force leadership.”
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Read the Letter from Senators Gillibrand and Thune
New York Times: Inquiry Urged on Air Force Academy’s Handling of Sexual Assault Cases
Colorado Springs Gazette: Colorado lawmakers back inquiry into Air Force Academy athletics
New York Times: Informant Debate Renewed as Air Force Revisits Cadet Misconduct
Report of the Panel to Review Sexual Misconduct Allegations at the United States Air Force Academy
http://www.defense.gov/news/sep2003/d20030922usafareport.pdf
About Protect Our Defenders: Protect Our Defenders is a human rights organization. We seek to honor, support and give voice to the brave women and men in uniform who have been sexually assaulted while serving their country, and re-victimized by the military adjudication system – a system that often blames the victim and fails to prosecute the perpetrator. Learn more about Protect Our Defenders at www.protectourdefenders.com or on Facebook at http://facebook.com/ProtectOurDefenders or follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ProtectRDfnders.
Protect Our Defenders partners with Attorney Susan Burke, Burke PLLC to advance lawsuits filed against the DoD and service academies for repeatedly ignoring rape, sexual assault and harassment, failing to prosecute perpetrators and retaliating against the victim.
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