> 1. Do you rely on civilian law enforcement to investigate and
> prosecute sexual assault cases against members of your Guard unit?
>
> CNGBI 0400.01 institutes the NBG's policy on the investigation of
> sexual assault cases. It creates the Office of Complex Investigations
> under the NGB Chief Counsel's office to provide the capability to
> conduct complex administrative investigations. Sexual Assault cases within the
National
> Guard are investigated by that office.
>
> If civilian law enforcement declines to investigate and prosecute the
> sexual assault report then the TAG, as per CNGBI 0400.01, can request
> NGB JA OCI support. As a matter of fact, one of the conditions
> necessary for NGB to consider investigating such cases, is that the
> TAG informs in the request for support that civilian LE has determined not to
investigate.
>
> CNGBI 0400.01 is an unclassified document and is open to the public.
>
> 2. Does your State UCMJ have any specific language regarding
> investigating or prosecuting sexual assault cases? If so, please
> provide some details or the specific statute.
>
> The PR Military Code does not have specific language regarding sexual
> assault cases. Our code is from 1969 and has not yet been updated.
> Our state UCMJ of 1969, adopted and incorporated into our military
> code the dispositions of the UCMJ of that was in effect in 1969.
>
> We have proposed the inclusion of specific language to that regard in
> the complete revision of our code. There is a proposed bill of
> legislation that would update our code but it is still in the initial
> stages of analysis on the PR House of Representatives.
>
> 3. Does your State UCMJ allow you to do the equivalent of an Article
> 32 hearing in the Federal System? If so, under what circumstances?
>
> Our State UCMJ does have the equivalent of an Article 32 hearing under
> the federal system or UCMJ. Section 2553 of the Puerto Rico Military
> Code requires that no charge or specification may be referred to a
> general court martial for trial until a thorough and impartial
> investigation of all matters set forth there in. The circumstances to
> do an investigation under this section are similar to those stated in the UCMJ.
>
> 4. Is there a statute of limitations for sexual assault against
> members of the military? If so, what is the length?
>
> Our State UCMJ does not contain specific language for sexual assault.
> However, our State UCMJ has a 2 year statute of limitation for any
> offense contained therein. Our State UCMJ does not have a statute of
> limitations for desertion or absence without leave in time of war or mutiny.

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For active duty military, Article 43 of the UCMJ establishes what are
the statute of limitations for offenses. For example, Art. 43 states
that for the crime of rape there is no limitation of time. For other
offenses there is a five year statute of limitation. Please see Article 43 UCMJ.
Under the PR Criminal Code the statute of limitations for sexual
assault is
20 years.
5. When was your UCMJ last updated?
The UCMJ portion of our Military Code has not been updated since 1976.
6. Are you currently pursuing any changes to your UCMJ in relation to
rape or sex assault?
Yes. See response 2.
7. In the last five years, have you held a court martial as a result
of a sexual assault allegation within your Guard unit?
No. The only case we have had substantiated concerning sexual assault
is recent and an administrative separation board has been convened.
8. In the last five years, have you meted out any of the following
punishments resulting for a sexual assault allegation made against a
member of your unit?
See Response 7.
9. What would your Guard unit like, that you do not have now, to help
combat sexual assaults?
The PRNG is doing everything in its power to help combat sexual assaults.
For example, we are following and applying all procedures mandated by
DOD and NGB to deal with sexual assault. We have specially trained
sexual assault investigators that are part of the NGB OCI, Special
Victims Counsels and advocates. The PRNG is also actively providing
education and training to prevent this type of conduct.
10. Anything else you would like to tell us about how your Guard unit
investigates and prosecutes sexual assault cases?
As mentioned before, CNGB 0400.01 prescribes the manner in which the
investigation is performed. In sum, once a request for support is
made by the TAG, NGB OCI appoints and dispatches an out of state team,
usually composed of Investigating Officers serving at NGB and
supported by members of other states than the one who made the
request. Once the evidence is gathered, NGB prepares and reviews the

 > report and it is sent back to the requesting TAG who then evaluates the next
course of action.
>
> For the one case that has come substantiated the TAG, according to
> applicable regulation, has taken the necessary steps to
> administratively prosecute the case.
>
> V/R
>
> MAJ William O'Connor