© 2024 University of Missouri - KBIA
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Report: Fort Leonard Wood climate helped drill sergeant prey on subordinates

usmilitary.about.com

A newspaper review of military sexual assault programs found that reporting lapses and other mistakes contributed to a climate in which a Fort Leonard Wood drill sergeant preyed on female subordinates. 

Army Staff Sergeant Angel M. Sanchez was found guilty at a September court-martial of four counts of sexual assault and six counts of abusive sexual contact at a court-martial. He faces a possible 20-year prison sentence.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports a government investigation concluded that high-level leaders on post "mishandled" informal sexual harassment complaints in Sanchez's unit, E Company, 701st Military Police Battalion. The newspaper reviewed more than 500 pages of military records received in response to a public records request.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.