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thedrifter
08-11-09, 07:35 AM
Military sex crimes cases on the rise
Published: Aug. 10, 2009 at 1:40 PM

The number of sexual-assault cases against Navy sailors and U.S. Marines in the western United States appears to be increasing, court records indicate.

The San Diego Union-Tribune said Monday its review of the San Diego Naval Base military court docket, which covers most western U.S. sailors and Marines, found court-martial cases against Marines and sailors are on a pace that could lead to a nearly 14 percent increase compared with last year.

That potential increase for a period starting Oct. 1, 2008, comes in the wake of a 14 percent increase in sexual-assault court-martial cases between Oct. 1, 2007, and Sept. 30, 2008, when compared with a year earlier.

In fiscal 2008, the U.S. Navy reported it investigated a total of 334 sexual-assault cases, while the U.S. Marines confirmed 216 cases during the same fiscal year.

Former U.S. Marine Colby Vokey, now a defense lawyer in Dallas, told the Union-Tribune the increases in sexual-assault cases involving soldiers may be due to new crime classifications being used by the military branches.

"I don't think there are more rapes than before," Vokey said. "It might look like more because before, (certain violations) were just called something else."

Ellie