19 Service Members Are Suing the Defense Secretary For Not Taking Sexual Assault Allegations Seriously
LatestWant to hear a truly horrible tale of power-tripping coercion? Care of The Daily Beast:
Daniele Hoffman was 17 years old when she met the recruiter for the National Guard who she says eventually attempted to rape her. The child of a single mother, Hoffman says the man “became the fatherly figure in my life.” She signed up for service both to “give back to my country and to make him proud. I wouldn’t have joined if it weren’t for his influence.”
But then, she says, the recruiter began to touch her inappropriately, make physical advances, and eventually attempted to rape her, warning her not to tell anyone by saying, “I gave you everything you have, and I can take it all away.”
She’s one of nineteen former and current U.S. military service members who are suing Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta (and others who have held the position) due to sexual assault allegations that the plaintiffs say were brushed off by the military.