Military Times reports on a disturbing side effect for heightened awareness within the military about sexual assaults and campaigns to report them: A deluge of cases being filed, which might “actually make it easier for sex predators to receive acquittals in court.”
With so many cases, “it’s made it harder to prosecute guilty sexual predators.”
“Prosecutors lack witnesses or strong evidence in the majority of cases, making it hard to yield a conviction, said Michael Waddington, a military defense lawyer and former judge advocate in the Army. He sees too many cases that involve alcohol and depend on hearsay.
“The military has the resources to take many sexual assault cases to court, said Philip Cave, a military defense lawyer and retired Navy lawyer. Waddington estimated that ninety percent of the sexual assault cases taken to court-martial would be thrown out in a civilian court because of a lack of evidence.
Judges and juries are skeptical at this point, Cave said.