Revision to military code puts sex crimes in line with other statutes

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Revision to military code puts sex crimes in line with other statutes
By Sandra Jontz, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Sunday, November 11, 2007

The U.S. military has revised the Uniform Code of Military Justice to consolidate sex crimes under one article, specifying the elements of each crime and setting forth the maximum penalties, military and civilian attorneys said.

Article 120 of the UCMJ now includes expanded descriptions of the sexual assault and carnal knowledge statues and brings various other sexual offenses under the same article, said Robert Reed, the associate deputy general counsel for military justice and personnel policy in the Pentagon. The offenses previously were scattered in various military legal statutes.

The revisions, which took effect Oct. 1, came about after Congress asked the Defense Department to review its statutes governing sexual offenses and bring them more in line with federal sex crimes statutes, Reed said.

Incidents of sexual assault and harassment in the military have gained public attention in recent years, including reports of rape and sexual assault at the service academies and against women deployed to the war zones.

Article 120 now includes rape of a child, aggravated sexual assault both to an adult and child, aggravated sexual abuse of a child, indecent acts, forcible pandering, indecent exposure and wrongful sexual contact, among other offenses. A subsection to the article deals with stalking.

The revisions have sparked legal debate. The new language does not specify the government’s need to prove a victim’s “lack of consent.” Instead, the government must prove solely that the perpetrator had sex with the victim by force, Reed said.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=50194