Sexual assault reports up 10%

WASHINGTON — U.S. officials say reports of sexual assaults across the military jumped by nearly 10 percent in 2017, a year that saw a massive online nude-photo sharing scandal rock the services, triggering greater awareness of sexual harassment and other similar complaints.

The overall increase was fueled by a nearly 15-percent surge in sexual assault reports in the Marine Corps, according to officials familiar with the data. The Marines were at the center of last year’s online investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and launched a large public campaign to raise awareness of inappropriate behavior and beef up enforcement of social media rules and conduct.

The Navy and the Air Force saw increases of more than 9 percent in reported sexual assaults, while the Army went up 8 percent. Several U.S. officials spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details ahead of the public release of the Pentagon’s annual report.

Overall, there were 6,769 reports of sexual assaults in the fiscal year that ended last Sept. 30, compared to 6,172 in 2016. The roughly 10 percent hike is the largest increase the Pentagon has seen since 2015.

To better understand the depth of the problem, the Pentagon has used the anonymous surveys for several years to track sexual assaults, harassment and other similar issues.

The nude-photo sharing scandal came to light early last year, when nude photographs of female Marines, veterans and other women were shared on the Facebook page “Marines United.” Accompanying comments and posts under some photos included obscene and threatening comments.

The photos showed women in various stages of undress.