The Pentagon’s chief watchdog warned Tuesday that the military’s criminal investigative agencies have mishandled about a dozen child sexual assault cases and made recommendations ranging from enhancing guidelines for collecting evidence to ensuring that victims receive the proper paperwork.
The inspector general evaluated 163 Military Criminal Investigation Organization investigations of sexual assaults against children that were closed in 2012 to determine whether the investigations were consistent with military policy and procedures.
That evaluation determined that more than half of the cases had minor deficiencies, but 10 of the criminal inquiries had serious deficiencies that fall short of the Defense Department’s standards, according to the watchdog office’s report.
“Significant deficiencies are key evidence not being collected, crime scenes not examined, and witness or subject interviews not conducted or not thorough,” according to the report that said such deficiencies could “materially affect” the outcome or reliability of investigations.
Some of the watchdog critiques were not well received, though.
The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command called the inspector general’s review unhelpful and the result of a “flawed” process that did not meet the standards established by the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE).
“The basic tenet of the IG inspections as outlined by the CIGIE is that they be credible and useful for agency managers, policymakers and other,” the Army said in a response letter. This “review failed to be credible or useful as the findings were not adequately supported.”
The inspector general found that the Army had six cases with significant deficiencies. Overall, the Army had 73 child sexual assault cases peppered with a variety of deficiencies, the report states.
Air Force officials were more receptive to the findings. U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations said in a response letter that they embraced suggestions made by the inspector general, but defended some of the evaluation’s findings, such as crime scene documentation.
The Air Force only had one case with a significant deficiency, according to the report.
“In one case, the local police were lead investigate agency and were responsible for actions taken in the investigation,” the directorate said. “In another instance, there was nothing in the case facts or circumstances indicating there was evidence on the devices and, therefore, there was no supporting legal basis for obtaining the necessary probable cause to obtain search authority to seize the items.”
The remaining three cases belonged to the Navy, according to the report.
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service did not push back against the report findings. Instead, the Navy said in a response letter that it was in the process of revising its policy on child sexual assault investigations.
That revision will include specific guidance for the identification and collection of digital evidence to physical items, such as clothing, according to the response letter.
Among the 163 investigations that the inspector general evaluated, 96 has minor deficiencies, such as “delays in completing certain logical investigation steps,” according to the report.
In some cases, appropriate medical records were not collected or reviewed. In other cases, routine briefs to the victim — or the victim’s parent or guardian — were not provided.
Additionally, the report states that some victims and their custodians were not issued required forms, which provides an initial rights advisement to victims and witnesses of a crime. The inspector general also exhibited concern regarding a lack of record-keeping, such as finger print impressions, mug photographs and DNA samples.
“For the most part, these deficiencies were minor and did not adversely impact the outcome of the investigation,” the report states.
• Maggie Ybarra can be reached at mybarra@washingtontimes.com.
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