‘Hundreds’ of GI Kids Assaulted Annually

Sexual assault cases involving the children of U.S. service members number in the hundreds each year, with suspects most often being male enlisted military members, according to Defense Department data disclosed to the Associated Press. Between fiscal 2010 and 2014, the report found 1,584 cases of substantiated sexual assault among the children. The AP pointed to the case of Cpl. Aaron C. Masa, who was convicted of assaulting his friend and fellow Marine’s 3-year-old stepdaughter in addition to taking sexually explicit photos of her and her infant sibling. In a pretrial agreement, the agency reported that Masa was sentenced to 30 years in prison.