ST PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota National Guard has released the findings of a report by its Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Review Board.
The Guard Tuesday also released updated numbers on reported cases of sexual assault. According to those numbers, between 2014 and 2019, the Minnesota National Guard received 112 reports of sexual assault.
Forty-six percent of the cases were reported as "restricted," which is a report that "provides victims with support and services, but does not trigger an investigation and provides confidentiality." Meaning, the survivor of the reported assault opts not to have an investigation. This was a total of 51 cases.
Fifty-four percent of the cases were reported as "unrestricted," which triggers an investigation. This was a total of 61 cases.
The Guard does not have jurisdiction over assaults reported to be committed by civilians. Of the 61 cases able to be investigated, 44 were reported to have been committed by other members of the military.
The 44 cases all were referred to local law enforcement. Nine of those cases were charged and four cases are currently open, according to information provided by the Guard.
The Minnesota National Guard does not have its own investigative unit, so all investigations must be referred to local law enforcement.
"We're heavily dependent on community resources," said John Thompson, Sexual Assault Response Coordinator for the Minnesota National Guard, who is on the board which issued the report. "In Minnesota, there's 70-some counties. So, we have to have working relationships with all those county sheriff's offices, along with the local city police departments."
Thompson said if a local prosecutor declines to pursue charges, the case then comes back to the National Guard Office of Complex Investigations, which gets a copy of the local investigative reports and determines whether "administrative" action can be taken against an accused perpetrator.
The Guard said 22 cases were referred to the National Guard Office of Complex Investigations. Of those cases, nine were found to be substantiated and six are still open.
Since 2014, 17 members of the Minnesota National Guard have been separated or are in the process of becoming separated from the organization.
"Last year, the Minnesota National Guard reported its sexual assault numbers
publicly for the first time," said Maj. Gen. Jon Jensen, Minnesota National
Guard Adjutant General. "This was not a heroic gesture, but a necessary one
to shed light on a dark topic."
The report outlined what the Guard does well regarding sexual assault prevention and what needs to be improved. One of the places which the report said improvements are needed is for sexual assault policies to be better tailored to the Guard.
Minnesota National Guard Deputy Adjutant General, Brig. Gen. Sandra Best, says right now those policies are better suited for active duty military.
"If you think about the active duty military, they are serving 24/7. Where the reserve component, the National Guard, some of our people are only here on drill weekends," said Brig. Gen. Best. "So, sometimes we have to figure out how to get [survivors] in the appropriate status, when things are going to be investigated, when the investigators are here."
The report also said there is a need for expanded training for commanders and first-line leaders so they can better support survivors.