Sex assault discipline still an issue
Reports reach new high, but estimates assume 1 in 3 victims speaks up
For the U.S. Air Force, the case of alleged sexual harassment and assault by a senior officer was exactly the type of misconduct Pentagon leaders had promised Congress and the public they would no longer tolerate.
The victim at Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base in Alabama reported in September 2015 that her married boss, a colonel, had repeatedly said he wanted to have sex with her, tracked her movements and sent her recordings of him masturbating in the shower, documents show. She said that she told him to back off but that he would not stop: Twice, she alleges, he trapped her in the office, grabbed her arms and forcibly tried to kiss her.
Air Force investigators quickly confirmed much of her account, aided by hundreds of messages that the officer had texted the woman and by his admission that he had sent the masturbation recordings, the documents show.
In their report, the investigators compiled extensive evidence that the colonel, Ronald Jobo, had committed abusive sexual contact against the woman, a civilian in her 30s. Under military law, the charge would have automatically resulted in a court-martial, a proceeding open to the public. The crime carried a sentence of up to seven years in prison and a requirement to register as a sex offender.
The decision on what to do next rested with a three-star general 600 miles away at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. In the military-justice system, commanders — not uniformed prosecutors — have the power to dictate how and whether criminal cases should be pursued.
In March 2016, Lt. Gen. John Thompson, the senior officer in Jobo’s chain of command, decided against charging Jobo with abusive sexual contact, or any crime at all. Instead, Thompson imposed what the military calls nonjudicial punishment, or discipline for minor offenses.
Jobo was forced to retire and demoted one rank, to lieutenant colonel. Because the military keeps most disciplinary actions secret, the case was hidden from public view.
There would be no trial, no publicity and no public record — the same for thousands of other sexual assault investigations each year in the armed forces.
An examination of the Jobo investigation, based in part on an internal 400-page law enforcement case file obtained by The Washington Post, casts doubt on the military’s promises to crack down on sexual misconduct and hold commanders accountable for how they administer justice.
“This kind of case cries out to be court-martialed,” said retired Col. Don Christensen, a former chief prosecutor for the Air Force who is now president of Protect Our Defenders. The group advocates for sexual assault victims in the armed forces and has lobSEVASTOPOL, bied for uniformed prosecutors, instead of commanders, to oversee cases. “It just cries out for someone to be held accountable in a public forum.”
Jobo retired from the Air Force last year. He declined requests for an interview. ”
In an interview with The Post, the woman said she felt betrayed by the general’s decision. “Disappointment is probably an understatement. I felt strongly that Colonel Jobo should be held accountable,” she said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect her privacy.
Last year, the number of reported sexual assaults — defined as acts ranging from wrongful sexual contact to rape — reached 6,172, a new high.
The Pentagon has called the increase a sign of progress, saying that more victims are coming forward because they are confident that offenders will be held accountable. Still, only about 1 in 3 victims last year reported being assaulted, according to military estimates.
More than 90 percent of reported incidents, however, are investigated and adjudicated behind closed doors, Pentagon statistics show. Last year, only 389 sexual assault cases proceeded to trial and produced public records of what happened.
Lawmakers have started to pay close attention to how commanders deal with sexual assault and harassment. In 2013, members of the Senate raised an outcry after learning of two separate cases in which Air Force lieutenant generals had granted clemency to convicted sex offenders. Both generals retired under pressure.
Thompson personally assured the woman at Gunter that he would take her case seriously. “He told me he was going to treat me like his daughter,” she told The Post.
On March 24, 2016, Thompson made up his mind. There would be no criminal charges.
Instead, he ordered that Jobo be disciplined for attempted abusive sexual contact, assault consummated by a battery and conduct unbecoming an officer. None of those offenses required a court-martial.
Meanwhile, the woman took another job with the Air Force in a different state.
Air Force officials said that Jobo was subsequently forced to retire and that a review board determined that he should be demoted to lieutenant colonel.
Jobo, now 49, retired effective October 2016. He will receive a military pension for the rest of his life.
It is now worth about $72,000 a year.