Military’s handling of sex assault cases on trial at Naval Academy rape hearing

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/militarys-handling-of-sex-assault-cases-is-on-trial-at-naval-academy-rape-hearing/2013/08/31/5700c9de-10d3-11e3-b4cb-fd7ce041d814_story.html

Military’s handling of sex assault cases on trial at Naval Academy rape hearing
By Melinda Henneberger and Annys Shin, Published: August 31

She was too drained to go on, she said.

After four days and more than 20 hours of relentless questions about her medical history and motivations, her dance moves and underwear, the 21-year-old midshipman who has accused three former Naval Academy football players of raping her pleaded on Saturday for a day off from testimony. It was granted by the hearing’s presiding officer but not before the request triggered more skepticism from defense attorneys, who said the young woman was faking her exhaustion.

“What was she going to be doing anyway?” asked Ronald “Chip” Herrington, one of the defense attorneys for Eric Graham, a 21-year-old senior from Eight Mile, Ala. “Something more strenuous than sitting in a chair? We don’t concede there’s been any stress involved.”

At a time when the military is under attack for how it handles sexual violence in its ranks, the proceedings underway at the Washington Navy Yard offer a case study on why women in uniform are so reluctant to report sexual assaults. The hearing highlights significant disparities between the way the military and civilian world treat accusers and the accused.



unhappycamper comment: Brigadier General Jeffery Sinclair's trial should be starting in NC within the next two weeks. Here's a link to the local newspaper: http://www.fayobserver.com/military