Air Force Sexual Assault Prevention Chief Charged With Sexual Battery
Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski, who heads the Air Force's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response unit, has been accused of the very thing he's been tasked with trying to stop.
Unbelievable. The officer who heads the Air Force’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response unit has been accused of the very thing he’s been tasked with trying to stop. Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski was arrested Sunday on suspicion of groping a woman in a parking lot and charged with misdemeanor sexual battery.
An Air Force spokeswoman said Krusinski was removed from his position–which he has held since February–after the sexual battery allegations.
The Washington Post:
A police report says that the 41-year-old Krusinski was drunk and grabbed a woman’s breast and buttocks. Police say the woman fought him off and called police.
Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck says Krusinski did not know the woman involved.
Susie Doyle, spokeswoman for the Arlington County Sheriff’s Office, said Krusinski was released Sunday on a $5,000 personal recognizance bond. An arraignment is scheduled for Thursday.
The military has long had a problem with sexual assault, with the Pentagon estimating that there were 19,000 cases of sexual abuse in 2010 alone. But as New York Sen. (and former Truthdigger of the Week) Kirsten Gillibrand pointed out at a Senate hearing on the issue in March, only a few hundred of those cases even went to trial. Most don’t get reported out of fear.
Krusinski’s arrest thus serves as the latest sad and serious reminder of the need to act on the issue — now.
As Laura Beck writes at Jezebel, “Considering the Air Force has a cozy relationship with sex abuse scandals — and an awkward time actually confronting sexual assault — this is far from surprising. Still, wouldn’t it be an amazing opportunity for the United States Armed Forces to open up their fucking eyes and actually deal with the issue? There’s no shortage of people who are asking them to do and be better — maybe this will serve as a desperately belated wake-up call?”
— Posted by Tracy Bloom.
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