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WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators have introduced sweeping, bipartisan legislation aimed at fixing the failures in juvenile justice in the U.S. military and its schools, as revealed by an Associated Press investigation into child-on-child sexual assaults on base.
AP found that many of the nearly 700 cases it documented over 10 years languished in the federal legal system, which on most bases has authority to prosecute civilian crimes.
One bill sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn of Texas would require the military to transfer that legal power to local authorities, who typically are more experienced handling juveniles. The requirement would apply only to installations on U.S. soil.
The bill introduced Monday also would require the military to submit yearly reports on juvenile felonies. The AP found the Pentagon did little to track child-on-child sex assaults.
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