The Thirteenth Public Meeting of the Defense Advisory Committee on Investigation, Prosecution, and Defense of Sexual Assault in the Armed Forces was be held on Friday, August 23, 2019 in Arlington, VA.
Arlington, VA - The thirteenth public meeting of the Defense Advisory Committee on Investigation, Prosecution, and Defense of Sexual Assault in the Armed Forces ("DAC-IPAD" or "the Committee"), was held on Friday, August 23, 2019, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., at the Doubletree by Hilton Crystal City, 300 Army Navy Drive, Arlington, Virginia.
The DAC-IPAD was established by the Secretary of Defense in February 2016, in accordance with section 546 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015, as amended. The Committee is tasked to advise the Secretary of Defense on the investigation, prosecution, and defense of allegations of rape, forcible sodomy, sexual assault, and other sexual misconduct involving members of the Armed Forces based on its review of such cases on an ongoing basis.
At this meeting the Data Working Group presented the fiscal year 2018 conviction and acquittal rates for sexual assault in the military based on its collection of case documents from all military sexual assault cases closed during the fiscal year. The DAC-IPAD staff provided an overview of the draft Department of Defense (DoD) Report on Allegations of Collateral Misconduct Against Individuals Identified as the Victim of Sexual Assault in the Case Files of a Military Criminal Investigative Organization submitted to the DAC-IPAD for input by the DoD general counsel in accordance with section 547 of the fiscal National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019. Service representatives who were involved in the data collection for the report appeared before the Committee to answer questions from the members about the report before the Committee conducts deliberations. The Committee heard from three additional panels composed of the Services' criminal law/military justice division chiefs; the special victims' counsel/victims' legal counsel program managers; and the Services' trial defense service organization chiefs. These three panels responded to questions from Committee members regarding their organizations' written responses to questions submitted by the DAC-IPAD related to conviction and acquittal rates, the case adjudication process, and victim declination in the military justice process. The Committee received a status update from its Case Review Working Group and a presentation by its Data Working Group regarding the fiscal year 2018 case adjudication data report plan. For its final session, the Committee deliberated on the DoD collateral misconduct report and the Services' responses to its questions regarding conviction and acquittal rates, the case adjudication process, and victim declination in the military justice process.
The DAC-IPAD welcomes input from the public on these topics or other issues under its consideration. Requests to make public comment, submission of written comments or materials, and any other inquiries may be directed to Ms. Marguerite McKinney at
This meeting was open to the public. Seating for the meeting was limited and available on a first-come basis.
More information about the Committee, including the meeting agenda and materials, is available on its website at http://dacipad.whs.mil. In the event the Office of Personnel Management closes the government due to inclement weather or for any other reason, please consult the website for any changes to public meeting dates or time.