Air Force faces new sex cases

Twelve cases of sexual assault or harassment have been reported at the Air Force Academy since new leaders took over in April, academy officials said yesterday. Nine cases apparently happened within the past six months, and the other three happened earlier but were reported after the change in leadership, academy spokesman John Van Winkle said. The accounting is the first since the academy`s sexual-assault scandal began in January. Dozens of female cadets say commanders ignored their assault reports and punished some of them for coming forward. Since then, new leadership has been installed and a sexual-assault response team was established to respond immediately to any allegation. Of the latest cases, six allege sexual assaults, four allege rapes, one inappropriate sexual conduct and one sexual harassment. Nine involved cadets attacking or harassing other cadets, said Johnny Whitaker, the academy`s director of communications. The academy did not provide details of the cases, but the cadet commandant, Brig. Gen. Johnny Weida, said some assailants aren`t likely to be tried "based on the facts and circumstances that have been presented to me." The report comes amid efforts by the Air Force to encourage victims to come forward. The new leadership is expected to soon allow anonymous assault reports. The scandal has led to several investigations, including one by a congressional oversight panel that found the academy averaged 14 reports of sexual assaults annually from 1993 through 2002. The Defense Department formally released a survey this week that found 18 percent of the academy`s female cadets said they had been sexually assaulted at least once, and 11 percent of this year`s seniors said they had been victims of rape or attempted rape.