Air Force sex-assault chief arrested on sexual battery charges

[Political Junky]

I hope this guy does serious time in jail.[This is my personal comment]

Air Force sex-assault chief arrested on sexual battery charges - latimes.com

The man leading a U.S. Air Force program responsible for preventing sexual assault has been arrested on suspicion of drunkenly groping a woman in an Arlington, Va., parking lot, officials said Monday.

Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski, 41 -- shown with several apparent cuts on his face in a police booking photo -- was charged with sexual battery. He has been removed from his position overseeing the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program pending the outcome of the investigation, Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek told the Los Angeles Times.

"On May 5 at 12:35 a.m., a drunken male subject approached a female victim in a parking lot and grabbed her breasts and buttocks," said a crime report from the Arlington County Police Department. "The victim fought the suspect off as he attempted to touch her again and alerted police."

The incident happened near a stretch of restaurants and bars just west of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, police said.

 

[SteadyMercury]

From the mugshot at least it looks like she got her licks in.

 

[Political Junky]

From the mugshot at least it looks like she got her licks in.

She sure did.

 

[waltky]

Killin' two birds with one stone...

Lawmakers include sex assault reforms in 2014 funding bill
June 5, 2013, WASHINGTON — House lawmakers on Wednesday moved to tie military sexual assault policy reform to next year’s defense funding, linking two of the Pentagon’s biggest headaches in a single legislative package.

A day after top military brass were called before the Senate to address a perceived indifference toward sexual assault problems, members of the House Armed Services Committee opened debate on their annual defense authorization bill, which includes stricter punishment for rapists and less discretion for commanders reviewing sexual assault crimes. Committee ranking member Adam Smith, D-Wash., called the problem “a stain on the military right now” and a “deep cultural problem” that legislation alone won’t fix. Debate over specific steps was expected to stretch late into Wednesday evening, but lawmakers in both chambers are considering limiting military authorities ability to dismiss or reduce court martial convictions and expanding resources to help victims of such attacks.

Pentagon officials have already promised the latter but oppose the former, saying such sweeping changes to military justice rules could have wide-ranging, unintended consequences. The annual authorization bill sets policies and priorities for the Defense Department, along with outlining anticipated spending for the upcoming fiscal year. Lawmakers began debate on the annual defense appropriations bill, the other half of the Pentagon’s budgetary legislation. Both plan for a 1.8 percent pay raise for troops next January — higher than the White House’s 1 percent raise proposal — and would drop Pentagon plans for another base closure round to create future savings.

But neither the $638 billion authorization bill nor the $512 billion appropriations bill (which differ due to war funding issues and outside agency overlaps) deal with the reality of sequestration, deep automatic budget cuts mandated by Congress two summers ago. Since then, defense leaders have lamented that arbitrarily trimming up to 10 percent from military agencies to meet deficit reduction goals is bad policy, and pleaded with lawmakers to reverse the cuts. They have not, despite repeated promises to do so. Defense department civilian employees face 14 days of furloughs to help budget officials reach the first round of sequestration cuts for fiscal 2013. Pentagon leaders have warned that cuts in future years could be more severe, limiting training and readiness of troops.

But the White House defense budget request this spring was sent to Congress about $30 billion above the fiscal 2014 sequestration level, gambling that a divided Congress will finally find a solution to the issue. On Wednesday, Smith said he worries that administration officials and lawmakers still haven’t grasped the reality of the deep automatic budget cuts, leading the department towards another fiscal panic if a last-minute solution doesn’t emerge. Committee members are expected to finalize both budget bills in coming days, and forward them to the full House for votes in late June or early July. The Senate still has not offered any public drafts of its defense budget plans, and the two sides likely won’t settle on a final bill until this fall. That could be too slow a process for many critics of the military’s handling of sexual assault issues.

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See also:

Military leaders argue for commanders’ discretion in sexual assault cases
June 4, 2013 WASHINGTON — The Joint Chiefs of Staff and top lawyers from each of the armed services appeared before a Senate committee Tuesday, hoping to stave off a plan from some in Congress to remove commanders’ authority to prosecute sexual predators within the ranks.

The top military leaders said any such move would undercut commanders, and instead pledged to do all they can to eliminate sexual assault the force. Members of Congress have introduced several bills this session to change parts of the Uniform Code of Military Justice in an effort to better respond to a growing problem within the military. The service chiefs acknowledged the problem, if not agreeing with everything Congress wants as a remedy. In prepared remarks, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno said that sexual assault and harassment are “like a cancer within the force — a cancer that left untreated will destroy the fabric of our force. “It’s imperative that we take a comprehensive approach to prevent attacks, to protect our people, and where appropriate, to prosecute wrongdoing and hold people accountable.”

Still, despite calls from some senators to remove the authority to take legal action on sexual assault crimes from the accused perpetrator’s chain of command, the joint chiefs all said the authority to prosecute or not prosecute their troops goes to the heart of the commander’s ability to maintain good order and discipline. The commanding officer “is responsible for everything that happens in his or her ship, squad or unit,” Greenert said, and the chain of command should be involved in every step of the judicial process. Maj. Gen. Vaughn Ary, staff judge advocate to the commandant of the Marine Corps, said commanders must have the authority to punish their troops for all crimes, not just some. “Whether it’s an enemy on the battlefield or sexual assault in the barracks, good order and discipline is just as important,” he said.

Sexual assault has long been a problem within the armed forces, but the issue has garnered more public attention in recent years, in part because of a long string of high-profile incidents involving sexual assault, sexual harassment and sexual abuse. But Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said the military has done itself a disservice by conflating two separate problems. The military has sexual predators who are committing crimes, and leaders have to work on creating a respectful work environment, she said. “These are not the same issues,” McCaskill said. “As long as those two get mushed together, you all are not going to be as successful as you need to be.” Currently, the Department of Defense reports all sexual assaults — from rapes to unwanted touching — in one report.

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[waltky]

Krusinski acquitted...

Air Force lieutenant colonel acquitted of groping woman in parking lot
November 13th, 2013 - The former head of an Air Force sexual assault prevention program was acquitted Wednesday of an assault charge stemming from an incident in Arlington, Virginia, last spring, his lawyer confirmed to CNN.

Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski, 42, was arrested in May and accused of grabbing a woman's buttocks and breasts in a parking lot in Arlington County, not far from the Pentagon. A police report said the unidentified woman fought off her assailant, who appeared intoxicated.

Krusinski was initially charged with sexual battery, but prosecutors later changed that charge to assault and battery, according to CNN affiliate WJLA. "We are very gratified by the verdict and gratified by the very serious consideration the jury gave to this matter," defense attorney Barry Coburn told CNN. "The system worked, which is always a good thing to see."

Krusinski, a 1994 graduate of the Air Force Academy who served tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan, was the chief of a branch of the Air Force's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program at the time of the incident. He was removed from that post after his arrest, which came two days before the Pentagon released a report showing a 6% year-over-year increase in the number of reported sexual assault cases within the military in the fiscal year that ended September 30, 2012. Coburn said it was unclear what the acquittal would mean for Krusinski's Air Force career.

Air Force Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski acquitted of groping woman in lot - CNN.com

 

[waltky]

House panel votes to let the foxes continue guardin' the hen house...

House panel backs leaving sexual assault cases in chain of command
May 7, 2014 ~ In an emotionally charged debate, the House Armed Services Committee narrowly rejected a measure that would have stripped authority to decide whether to pursue a rape case and hand the job to seasoned military lawyers.

The Pentagon posted a narrow win Wednesday as a House panel endorsed leaving the authority to prosecute rapes and other serious crimes with military commanders. In an emotionally charged debate, the House Armed Services Committee rejected a measure that would have stripped the long-standing authority to decide whether to pursue a case, especially those related to sexual assault, and hand the job to seasoned military lawyers. The vote was 34-28.

Pentagon leaders vigorously oppose the change in the Uniform Code of Military Justice, arguing that commanders should have more responsibility, not less, for the conduct of the men and women they lead in war and peacetime. Female lawmakers in the Senate and House have questioned whether the military's mostly male leadership understands differences between relatively minor sexual offenses and serious crimes that deserve swift and decisive justice. "We have not fixed this," said Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., sponsor of the measure.

Offering their support for the measure were two House members who have experienced war — one who lost both legs and partial use of an arm in a rocket-propelled grenade attack in Iraq and one who served in the 29th Infantry Brigade's medical operations near Baghdad. Both veterans are women. "I love the military with every bone in my body," said Rep. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill. "I am devastated to see how sexual predators are treated." Duckworth said she "gradually, painfully" came to the conclusion that decisions on prosecution should be taken out of the military chain of command. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, said the voices of the servicemembers who are the victims need to be heard. Opponents of the measure maintained that commanders must be held accountable, and that the military leadership was working to address the problem.

Last week, the Pentagon said reports by members of the military of sexual assaults jumped by an unprecedented 50 percent last year, in what Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel declared a "clear threat" to both male and female servicemembers' lives and well-being. Overall, there were 5,061 reports of sexual abuse filed in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, compared with 3,374 in 2012. About 10 percent of the 2013 reports involved incidents that occurred before the victims joined the military, up from just 4 percent in 2012. The House committee's action came during a marathon session to craft a $601 billion defense policy bill for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.

House panel backs leaving sexual assault cases in chain of command - U.S. - Stripes

 

[Navy1960]

This Officer is a disgrace to the service and the uniform he wears, not only did he bring down harm on someone who could not defend themselves he dishonored all those who serve and have served and as such should be shown the door and led into a jail cell.

 

[Esmeralda]

I don't think he should do 'serious jail time,' but I do think he should be removed from his position, perhaps demoted, and face serious dicipline within the military. I think his punishment should reflect whatever this kind of assault gets in the public sector, plus him being demoted.