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Sexual Offender
Conviction Records
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Military Sex Offenders Registry
Military Offenses Of A Sexual Nature
Active Duty Military Convictions
An Unofficial Site
Of United States Military
Sexual Offender
Conviction Records
Not Associated With The U.S. Military Or Government
Survivors Of Military Sexual Assault - After The Conviction, Now What?
To endure a tragic sexual assault in any family, is a burden no mother and child should have to bear. Whether the military service member has offended within his or her own family or outside the family, the results for the spouse and children are the same in many respects. Coupled with the shame and emotional trauma are other issues that impact the family, once the conviction has been handed down and the sentence has been approved.
One of the primary differences between being a victim or parent of child victim of a military sex offender compared to being the victim of a civilian offender comes down to one fact. The military has a program in place to handle dependent victims and their families that supports, not hinders the reporting of sexual assaults. Where as a victim of domestic abuse by a civilian may worry that if she reports her offender she will have no support, no form of income, no way to earn a living, perhaps ending up on the street with her children, feeling forced to endure more secret suffering and the resulting needless continued abuse of the family.
Though the military has a program to assist dependent victims of domestic violence, the rebuilding period can be especially difficult for women who were homemakers including those homemakers stationed abroad. Once the court martial is over, the family can no longer stay abroad, where they have typically been living on a military base, they have to come back to the U.S. Suddenly, not only has the family suffered trauma, family composition has changed, family finances have changed followed by a mandatory family relocation. On the back of abuse and court martial, the distress, confusion and changes can be overwhelming for an adult, unbearable for a child, without a support network in place.
Counseling through military resources is hit or miss. They decide if the victim(s) need counseling. Where the victim is a child, it may be difficult to prove the child has been traumatize, even where the abuse was long term and an accepted given of the abuse is emotional trauma. If in the opinion of military doctors the child is not showing outward signs of depression, psychosis or suicidal tendency, counseling can be denied, as is typical with service personnel as well. If the family is abroad, this will likely mean waiting until the family returns 'Stateside' in order to begin counseling for children or other survivors of abuse.
Where the crime was committed abroad in a foreign nation, and the family had relocated abroad, repatriation back to the U.S. must begin. The military will fly the dependents back home and ship their personal belongings and household goods back to the U.S. The process is much the same as when the family left the U.S., when the service member was transferred abroad, only everything takes more time.
It can take three to five months for the travel arrangements to be made. Early Return of Dependents, known as ERD, needs to be processed. ERD is the application, processing and approval dependents have to have go through, in order to return to the U.S. without their sponsor. It's added paperwork compared to leaving the country with the service member during a typical
duty transfer.
If children were recently born, the process can be slowed down while the military processes the new dependents and gets passports processed. Meanwhile, the family remains largely alienated from their friends and family back home, who will form their long term recovery support network. Shortly after the court martial, if the victim of the offender was a family member, a victim/witness liaison will be assigned. The military offers financial assistance to family victims known as Transition Compensation, or TC as it's referred to with the liaison offering assistance.
TC is cash aid and benefits paid to families who have suffered some type of domestic abuse by an active duty service member. The period of assistance ranges from around 12 months to 36 months. This aid is typically approved rather quickly, within a couple months of the court martial outcome. The payment will vary based on numerous factors, including family size.
One spouse of an E-6 pay grade offender with four children says she got $2298.00 in TC each month for 25 months in addition to the E-1 pay during the time the court martial sentence allowed payment of E-1 salary. During that time period the spouse can look for work, go to college, retrain and try to rebuild her life without the offender. However, if repatriation is
part of the process, where getting back to the U.S. may take several months, a period of time such as 25 months will not be enough to attain an Associates Degree once Stateside.
In addition to cash aid, the family is given medical benefits, which at this time are called TriCare. TriCare will cover needed counseling services, where dependent services provided on base may have been rejected. As well, dependents retain privileges at the base commissary, for discounted household shopping. If the spouse and children live near a base, they will
get dental care provided on base as well. If not, they are on their own for dental care. Since most states have a mandatory medical and dental program for all children, that option can be explored.
After the court martial there is a waiting period of 30 to 60 days or so, while all the paperwork is finalized. Once the paperwork is completed and signed that is when the employment income drops. Typically, military sex offenders get a rank reduction to E-1, the lowest grade. The pay rate at this time is about $2100 a month. Where the offender was a high ranking
officer, the drop in pay is huge, a further burden to the family.
Another typical element of the sentence is "pay forfeiture". During the period covered by the forfeiture, the spouse can petition to get the pay. This will typically be granted after the spouse certifies and proves they will not share any of the pay with the offender. This can take a few months to accomplish. While waiting for that approval, the prior pay rate is paid
to the spouse.
Typically, service personnel get their pay through direct deposit twice a month, dependents will get paid once a month, via check. This complication can cause additional hardship, as expected direct deposits do not arrive as scheduled. One offender's spouse, says that she received the E-1 pay for six months. While waiting for that pay, she received his E-6 pay, just as she had prior to the offense. The loss in pay from E-6 to E-1 was about $1500 a month at the time of the offense, she says.
While the military will outprocess the family in the coming months to three years, the physical, psychological and emotional damage created by domestic violence lives on forever with victims. If you are a victim of military domestic violence, don't delay, report today.
