Defense Department to make sexual harassment a crime

Defense Department officials will make sexual harassment a criminal offense amid new reports of increasing bad behavior among service members.

In a statement Thursday morning, acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan called the move a necessary step to combat the “scourge” of sexual assault and abuse in the ranks.

A new report from the department’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response office shows the number of reported cases of sexual assault in the ranks rose from nearly 4,800 in fiscal 2016 to more than 6,050 in fiscal 2018.

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