Congress wants review of military child-on-child sex abuse

Congress has asked its watchdog agency to investigate the Pentagon’s handling of child-on-child sex assaults on U.S. military bases.

The request follows reporting by The Associated Press that documented nearly 700 sexual assault reports over 10 years on bases where military kids live and learn. The reporting detailed how failures of justice leave victims with little support and offenders with little consequence.

In a recent letter, the top Republican and Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee asked the Government Accountability Office to get involved. That would mean a more transparent review of an opaque system.

The two lawmakers wrote that they worried Pentagon-run schools, which educate about 70,000 military kids worldwide, do not have consistent policies. They also questioned how military investigators and lawyers seek justice.