A military lawyer in charge of sexual assault cases was suspended for allegedly engaging in inappropriate sexual contact with another female lawyer, military officials told AFP on Thursday.
Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Morse was suspended after a female lawyer accused him of trying to grope and kiss her during an incident in 2011. Morse was in charge of the Army's special victim prosecutors that take on rape and domestic abuse cases.
"We can confirm that this matter is currently under investigation and that the individual in question has been suspended from duties, pending the outcome of the investigation," a defense official told AFP.
The news comes during a time legislators and advocacy groups are placing more scrutiny on what they say is the military's inability to check the high number of sexual assault cases. On Thursday the Senate rejected a bill that would ban military commanders from making decisions in sexual assault cases. The Pentagon released a report last year that found that nearly 1,600 sexual assault cases were awaiting investigation.
No charges have yet been brought against Morse.
The female lawyer, who worked for Morse, said the incident occurred at a legal conference for sexual assault in Alexandria, Virginia. Morse, who at the time was not in his current position, allegedly tried to kiss the lawyer against her will in a hotel room, AFP reported.
According to the Pentagon, the number of reported sexual assault cases dramatically increased during fiscal year 2013. There were 3,374 reports of sexual assault in 2012. That number jumped to 5,400 in 2013.
The spike in cases of sexual assault, however, are not attributed to more women in the military being assaulted, but that more women are becoming comfortable with reporting the assault.
More sexual assault cases have also made it to trial.
Army Brigadier General Jeffery Sinclair was on trial this week on charges of forcing a female captain to perform oral sex. Sinclair pleaded guilty on Thursday to engaging in inappropriate affairs with other female officers, but pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting the female captain.
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