Senator Bill Nelson takes on sexual attacks in war

I have to say that I am finally happy to get an email update that really means something from Senator Nelson. Sorry but I have a few bones to pick with his Orlando office. I visited there a couple of years ago and offered my help with veterans. Never heard from them. Two weeks ago, I sent them a letter letting them know I was a Chaplain and again, offering my help with veterans in this area. Again, have not heard from them. You'd think they would be interested in doing something to help the veterans in Florida with PTSD enough they would have been at least interested enough in asking me a few question to see if I knew what I was talking about, but no, they must not have the time. Anyway, this was a pleasant surprise. It's a pretty powerful email about what is happening to too many women.

April 9, 2008
Dear Kathie,
Today I chaired a hearing on the failure of our government to prosecute cases of sexual assault committed against American women working for defense contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan. Two brave women, both formerly KBR employees, gave disturbing testimony about the assaults they suffered, and then we questioned representatives from the Department of Defense, the State Department, and the Department of Justice why these—and other similar assaults—are not being prosecuted.

I hope you will take a moment to read the news release below and the two related articles from ABC News. You can also link to my website and watch or listen to the hearing. A fundamental breakdown of justice has occurred and it must be corrected.A fundamental breakdown of justice has occurred and it must be corrected.

Women Tell Of Brutal Assaults In Iraq That Go Unpunished


Washington, D.C. - The federal government hasn't tried any cases involving sexual assaults against women who work for contractors in Iraq or Afghanistan, despite a 2000 law giving that authority to the Department of Justice.

That information emerged this morning in often-emotionally charged testimony before a U.S. Senate Foreign Relations panel headed by Florida Democrat Bill Nelson. Since last fall, Nelson has been pressuring federal agencies about unpunished sexual assaults in the war zones, following a Florida woman's report that she was attacked while working in Iraq for a defense contractor.

Another disturbing piece of information that emerged in testimony this morning was that the victims of sexual assault in the war zone felt pressured to sweep the incidents under the rug.

"I am unaware of any measures to date being taken against the KBR employee or the member of the U.S. military who attacked me," Dawn Leamon said in remarks presented to the subcommittee. "I hope that by telling my story here today, I can keep what happened to me from happening to anyone else."

Leamon, who has two sons who served as soldiers in the war zones, worked for Halliburton's former subsidiary KBR. She says she was sexually assaulted just two months ago by a KBR coworker and a U.S. soldier at a remote military base near Basra, in Iraq. Her testimony marked the first time she has identified herself in public. Leamon was one of two victims to testify today.

Another KBR employee, Mary Beth Kineston, said in her testimony, "I also expected that when I made a complaint about such activity, it would be thoroughly investigated in good faith, that is, with an intent to resolve the problem immediately, and that I would be protected from the perpetrator in the meantime. I can assure this committee that none of my expectations about KBR were fulfilled."

"I'm in a war zone - and, I have to worry about being attacked by my coworkers," Kineston testified, recounting how she was raped in the cab of her truck by the driver of a vehicle that was parked behind her tanker as they waited one night to fill up with water from the Tigris River.

According to figures supplied by the Pentagon, more than two dozen U.S. civilians have reported sexual assaults. The Defense Department's inspector general said it has investigated 742 sexual assault cases during operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Most involved members of the military and at least 26 involved American civilians.

But the Justice Department has only sparingly used the 2000 law intended to protect Americans working as contractors in the war zone. In fact, there have been no convictions in a sexual assault of a U.S. civilian in Iraq or Afghanistan. In prepared testimony, Sigal P. Mandelker, deputy attorney general of the Justice Department's criminal division, said officials have brought charges in five sex cases, with four successful convictions.

The convictions were for sexual abuse of a minor by a Defense Department civilian employee in Japan; child pornography crimes by defense contractors in Iraq and Qatar; and, abusive sexual contact by a Pentagon contractor against a soldier in Iraq. An indictment has been delivered in the fifth case, but Mandelker in her testimony did not provide details on that case, citing privacy, confidentiality and court-ordered restrictions.

"The bottom line is that American women working in Iraq and Afghanistan continue to be assaulted while their assailants continue to go free," Nelson said. "Either the U.S. government has the authority to prosecute contractors for sexual assault and is failing to do so, or it doesn't have the authority or resources it needs and hasn't come to Congress. Either way, it is a travesty.

"We've got a problem that justice is breaking down here," said Nelson, who chaired Wednesday's hearing of the International Operations and Organizations, Democracy and Human Rights Subcommittee.

Following are two abc NEWS accounts this morning:



Military Mom Says She Was Brutally Raped in Iraq
Dawn Leamon, Who Alleges She Was Raped by Two Men, Will Tell Her Story on Capitol Hill

By MADDY SAUER
April 9, 2008—

Yet another woman has come forward saying she was brutally raped in Iraq while working for the U.S. contractor Kellogg Brown Root (KBR).

Dawn Leamon, who has two sons on active duty, says she was raped earlier this year by a U.S. soldier and a KBR colleague.

She will tell her horrific story to members of Congress today at a hearing of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

Leamon says that following her rape, she spoke with a woman at the KBR Employee Assistance Program. "She discouraged me from reporting, saying, 'You know what will happen if you do,'" Leamon said.

Leamon says KBR then assigned full-time security guards to her which gave her no privacy to talk about the incident, and her movements around camp were restricted, yet her attackers' movements were unrestricted.

"KBR did little or nothing to restore my sense of safety after I reported being raped," said Leamon.

KBR released the following statement to ABC News this morning. "First and foremost, KBR in no way condones or tolerates sexual harassment. Each employee is expected to adhere to the Company's Code of Business Conduct, and when violations occur, appropriate action is taken. Any reported allegation of sexual harassment or sexual assault is taken seriously and thoroughly investigated. KBR's top priority is the safety and security of all employees, and our commitment in that regard is unwavering."

Also at today's hearing, for the first time the Department of Justice is slated to answer questions on the investigation and prosecution of alleged sex crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. No one has yet been charged in Leamon's case.

Last December, the department declined to send an official to testify before the House Judiciary Committee hearing on law enforcement efforts to protect U.S. contractors in Iraq. The hearing featured testimony by Jamie Leigh Jones, a young Texan woman who also says she was gang-raped while working for KBR in Iraq.

Like Jamie Jones, Leamon believes she was drugged before her attack.

In January, several lawmakers pounded the Justice Department for flatly refusing to answer their questions about how sexual assault cases in Iraq involving U.S. citizens are handled. "We still have heard nothing from your office," complained several Democratic senators, including presidential hopeful Barack Obama, D-Ill.

Now, sources says the Justice Department has agreed to send a representative to the Senate hearing entitled, "Closing Legal Loopholes: Justice for Americans Sexually Assaulted in Iraq and Afghanistan."

Meanwhile, Jamie Jones will receive the Susan McDaniel Public Awareness Award at the Congressional Victim's Rights Caucus Awards ceremony. There was a grand jury hearing in Florida concerning her case in January of this year, but no indictment has yet been filed.
Copyright © 2008 ABC News Internet Ventures

By the Numbers: Military Sex Assault Cases in Iraq, Afghanistan

Pentagon Stats Show 40 Percent of Cases End Without Prosecution or Punishment for Alleged Culprits

By JUSTIN ROOD
April 9, 2008—

Four in 10 military sexual assault investigations in Iraq and Afghanistan have ended without prosecution or punishment for the alleged culprits, according to new Pentagon statistics -- slightly more than those which have resulted in prosecution, punishment or both.

Out of 684 investigations opened, 122 were closed because investigators determined the victims' claims were unfounded; 101 were closed for insufficient evidence; and 44 were closed as unsolved, according to Pentagon figures provided to Congress in advance of a Wednesday hearing.

In 23 cases, the Pentagon said it has no record of action being taken. In nine others, its records show authorities "decided to take no action."

By contrast, 183 cases ended in some form of administrative discipline. Culprits were discharged, fired, deported, barred from their posts or received an unspecified "nonjudicial punishment," the document stated.

Of those which resulted in courts martial proceedings, 81 ended with convictions, and two alleged assaulters were acquitted, the figures showed. None appear to have been prosecuted in U.S. civilian courts.

Today a Defense official is slated to testify, along with representatives from the Departments of State and Justice, on sexual assault among service members and civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan.