WASHINGTON (NewsNation Now) — The military’s top commander may change how sexual assaults are handled.
An independent review panel recommends commanders stop ruling on whether or not a sexual assault case will be prosecuted.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley fell short of endorsing the proposal Monday, saying they must do more to stop assaults, but he’ll decide after the review board is finished.
It’s the subject of an ongoing NewsNation Investigation on sexual assaults in the military.
The U.S. Department of Defense hired Amy Franck to help fix their sexual assault prevention and response program until they suspended her — she says for running a case all the way up the chain of command — an overreach in the eyes of the military.
Then, her fight became even more personal when she said a year later, she herself became a victim.
“We were at a military function and I asked him had he seen any of the people that I was with? And he leaned in toward me like he couldn’t hear me and so I stood beside him, and he grabbed me around the waist and pulled me into him and slid his hand down the back of my dress and grabbed my rear end,” said Franck. “To which I snatched his hand off of me and told him to never touch me again and I left.”
I thought I cannot believe this is happening to me right now…. He just kind of smirked at me, it was almost like ‘what are you gonna do?’
Amy Franck
She said when she brought her experience to light, her colleagues turned on her.
“To have your own group of people that you’ve worked with for that long tell people not to help you has been so horrific. It was worse than the act itself,” Franck said.
There is a lot more to this case.
Watch Investigative Correspondent Rich McHugh’s full report in the player above.
If you or someone you know needs help, please call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.