Shame file: Defence Force members investigated for dozens of sex crimes
RAPES, revenge porn and child abuse are among dozens of alleged sex crimes involving Defence Force personnel reported in just six months.
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EXCLUSIVE: RAPES, revenge porn and child abuse are among dozens of alleged sex crimes involving Defence Force personnel reported in just six months.
A shocking shame file obtained by the Herald Sun shows Defence members have also been investigated for groping colleagues, spiking their drinks and confronting them naked in the showers.
The incidents come in the wake of a series of damning cultural reviews prompted by the Skype sex scandal in 2011, when a cadet steamed footage of himself having sex to other cadets.
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But new figures show Defence received 265 reports of sexual misconduct last year, the highest level in five years. That included 59 sexual assaults and 28 aggravated sexual assaults where the perpetrator was violent, had a weapon or committed the act in front of others.
Allegations lodged in the six months to March included:
A MAN sending sexually explicit pictures of himself on Snapchat to a 13-year-old girl, who sent similarly explicit photos back;
A MEMBER spiking the drink of a colleague and sexually assaulting them;
A MAN filming a woman during “an intimate act” without her consent;
A NAKED man confronting a woman in the shower and trying to get into her living area; and
A MEMBER sexually abusing a child in their care, prompting a police investigation.
The incidents, released after a freedom of information request, includes 134 cases of sexual harassment and assault, almost half of which were redacted.
Some cases related to historical offences while several others involved Defence members who were victims.
Other shock claims included a man sending pictures of his genitals and another member’s face, “depicting a sexual act” to a woman who was a fellow member, and a member who had been posted to Iraq showing pornographic images to a local and touching their genitals without consent.
A woman also alleged she had been sexually assaulted on at least three occasions by a fellow member since 2016.
Another man reportedly inappropriately touched a woman between her legs as group photos were taken.
While most suspected offenders were men, several women were also investigated, including two cases where female officers grabbed the genitals of male officers late at night without their consent.
In a statement on Wednesday night, Defence said it had invested significant resources to reform its culture and had improved complaint processes to encourage people to come forward.
“Unacceptable behaviour is not, and will not, be tolerated in our Defence organisation,” the statement said.
Twitter: @tminear
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Originally published as Shame file: Defence Force members investigated for dozens of sex crimes