Category Archive for : ‘MILITARY’

Mason Wallace, Marine recruiter accused of grooming, raping LI HS student, was former sexual assault advocate

By

Richard Pollina

April 28, 2023 6:31am

New York Post

A married US Marine Corps recruiter who counseled sexual assault victims is charged with grooming and raping a 16-year-old Long Island girl — admitting to her, “I’m a dirty old man and you love it,” according to the victim.

Staff Sgt. Mason H. Wallace, 28, was charged with third-degree rape after allegedly manipulating the teen’s interest in the military to spark the depraved relationship.

“I would look back at my messages with

People gathered at a mural and memorial honoring Army Specialist Vanessa Guillén at Taqueria del Sol on July 5, 2020. Photo by Briana Vargas/The Texas Tribune

Dec. 29 (UPI) — Commanders will no longer be involved in military sexual harassment or sexual assault investigations under a new federal law named for a murdered Fort Hood soldier that goes into effect Saturday.

Provisions of the I Am Vanessa Guillén Act were included in the $770 billion National Defense Authorization Act that was signed by President Biden on Monday.

Under the new law, the decision

May 13, 2021
Missy Ryan
Washington Post

Congressional measures targeting sexual assault in the military gained momentum Thursday as lawmakers voiced growing support for overhauling how decisions about prosecuting sex crimes are made.

Proposals in both chambers would strip military commanders of the authority to decide which alleged incidents of sexual assault are tried in military courts and which result in lesser punishments or are dismissed, reflecting lawmakers’ frustration with the failure of earlier attempts to end the scourge of harassment and assault in the ranks.

The measures, championed by Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) in

April 16, 2021
Ellen Mitchell
The Hill

The Army on Friday announced several new actions meant to combat sexual harassment and violence at Fort Hood, Texas, and across the service.
The move would implement some of the recommendations of the Fort Hood Independent Review Committee (FHIRC), which last year produced a damning report highlighting a climate of widespread sexual misconduct at the base following the April 2020 death of Pfc. Vanessa Guillen.
The recommendations to go into effect address concerns at Fort Hood, the base’s III Corps, Army Forces Command, as well as across the

March 18, 2021
Danielle Wallace
Fox News

Fort Hood leadership blocked sexual assault reporting, shamed victims and failed to identify “textbook” examples of grooming and “serial” offenders, investigators told Congress this week, following an independent review conducted in the wake of 20-year-old soldier Vanessa Guillén’s disappearance and murder, and a string other deaths and suicides connected to the U.S. Army base in Killeen, Texas.

The House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee held a hearing on the issue on Tuesday, looking to examine ways to reform criminal investigations in the military in the wake of

February 24, 2021
Caitlin M. Kenney
Stripes

WASHINGTON — The female Marine whose distressing video about another Marine’s sexual misconduct against her said Wednesday that her perpetrator was her unit’s platoon sergeant and a uniformed victim advocate.

“I am not a one in a million story. I am lucky I have been able to stay safe,” she said in a statement published by Protect Our Defenders, an advocacy organization that works to end sexual violence in the military. “My name is Dalina, I am not a martyr, I am a sergeant in the Marines