I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3435 

To amend title 10, United States Code, to improve the prevention of and 

response to sexual assault in the Armed Forces, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 16, 2011 

Ms. SPEIER (for herself, Ms. BASS of California, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. 

BRALEY of Iowa, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. 

CLAY, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. 

EDWARDS, Mr. ELLISON, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. FILNER, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. 

HAHN, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. 

GEORGE MILLER of California, Ms. NORTON, Ms. PINGREE of Maine, 

Mr. RANGEL, Ms. RICHARDSON, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. LINDA T. 

SA ́NCHEZ of California, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. SUTTON, Mr. THOMPSON

of California, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. WALZ of Minnesota, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. 

HONDA, Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Ms. WATERS, Mrs. 

MALONEY, Mrs. LOWEY, Ms. MOORE, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. BACA, Mr. 

KUCINICH, Ms. DEGETTE, and Mr. ANDREWS) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To amend title 10, United States Code, to improve the 

prevention of and response to sexual assault in the 

Armed Forces, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sexual Assault Train3 ing Oversight and Prevention Act’’ or the ‘‘STOP Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress makes the following findings: 

6 (1) The Department of Defense conducted a 

7 survey of members of the Armed Forces serving on 

8 active duty that revealed that only 13.5 percent of 

9 such members reported incidents of sexual assault, 

10 which means that more than 19,000 incidents of 

11 sexual assault of members of the Armed Forces ac12 tually occurred in 2010 alone. 

13 (2) Despite modest attempts, the Department 

14 of Defense has failed to address the chronic under 

15 reporting of incidents of sexual assault and harass16 ment, as by the Department’s own estimates, 86 

17 percent of sexual assaults went unreported in 2010. 

18 (3) The military adjudication system itself lacks 

19 independence, as military judges depend on com20 mand, and members of the Armed Forces have only 

21 limited access to civilian courts to address their 

22 grievances. 

23 (4) The Cox Commission, sponsored by the Na24 tional Institute of Military Justice, as well as several 

25 other actors, have consistently observed that the 

26 United States has fallen behind countries such as 


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1 Canada and the United Kingdom in terms of its 

2 military justice system. 

3 (5) The military atmosphere is not conducive to 

4 resolving issues of sexual assault and harassment, 

5 and sexual violence continues to infect the Armed 

6 Forces. 

7 (6) The culture of the United States Armed 

8 Forces is based on the chain of command. In a case 

9 of sexual assault, a commander may be responsible 

10 for both the victim and the offender, or both of their 

11 units, or the entire base or ship where the offense 

12 occurred. Command discretion empowers a com13 mander to decide if the case goes forward to court 

14 martial. The great deference afforded command dis15 cretion raises serious concerns about conflicts of in16 terest and the potential for abuse of power. 

17 SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE SEXUAL ASSAULT OVER18 SIGHT AND RESPONSE COUNCIL. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 7 of title 10, United 

20 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol21 lowing new section: 

22 ‘‘§ 188. Sexual Assault Oversight and Response Coun23 cil 

24 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT; MEMBERSHIP.—There is a 

25 Sexual Assault Oversight and Response Council (hereinVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:16 Nov 17, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3435.IH H3435

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1 after in this section referred to as the ‘Council’). Com2 posed of a majority of civilians this Council shall be inde3 pendent from the chain of command within the Depart4 ment of Defense. 

5 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.—(1) The membership of the 

6 Council is comprised of individuals selected by the Presi7 dent and the Secretary of Defense who are governmental 

8 and nongovernmental experts and professionals in the ju9 dicial and sexual assault fields as follows: 

10 ‘‘(A) Two members shall be appointed by the 

11 Secretary of the Defense from among the Depart12 ment of Defense personnel who have previously 

13 served as military judges in courts-martial cases re14 lating to sexual assault. 

15 ‘‘(B) One member shall be appointed by the 

16 President from among the Department of Justice 

17 personnel with expertise in prosecuting cases of sex18 ual assault. 

19 ‘‘(C) One member shall be appointed by the 

20 President who shall have extensive experience advo21 cating for the rights of those sexually assaulted 

22 while serving in the Armed Forces. 

23 ‘‘(D) One member shall be appointed by the 

24 President who shall have extensive expertise adjudi25 cating civilian cases of sexual assault. 


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1 ‘‘(2) Members shall be appointed for a term of three 

2 years, except that a member of the Council appointed to 

3 fill a vacancy occurring before the end of the term for 

4 which the member’s predecessor was appointed shall only 

5 serve until the end of such term. A member may serve 

6 after the end of the member’s term until the member’s 

7 successor takes office. 

8 ‘‘(c) CHAIRMAN; MEETINGS.—(1) The Council shall 

9 elect a chair from among its members. 

10 ‘‘(2) The Council shall meet not less often than once 

11 every year. 

12 ‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.—(1) Each mem13 ber of the Council who is not an officer or employee of 

14 the Federal Government shall be compensated at a rate 

15 equal to the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic 

16 pay prescribed for Executive Schedule Level IV under sec17 tion 5315 of title 5, for each day (including travel time) 

18 during which such member is engaged in the performance 

19 of the duties of the Council. Members of the Council who 

20 are officers or employees of the United States shall serve 

21 without compensation in addition to that received for their 

22 services as officers or employees of the United States. 

23 ‘‘(2) The members of the Council shall be allowed 

24 travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, 

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1 chapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, while away from their 

2 homes or regular places of business in the performance 

3 of services for the board. 

4 ‘‘(e) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Council shall be re5 sponsible for the following matters: 

6 ‘‘(1) Appointing certain personnel to the Sexual 

7 Assault Oversight and Response Office and advising 

8 the Sexual Assault Oversight and Response Office. 

9 ‘‘(2) Appointing, in consultation with the Sec10 retary of Defense, the Director of Military Prosecu11 tions. 

12 ‘‘(3) Appointing, in consultation with the Presi13 dent and the Secretary of Defense, the Executive Di14 rector of the Sexual Assault Oversight and Response 

15 Office. 

16 ‘‘(4) Reviewing each request of the Director of 

17 Military Prosecutions with respect to a case stem18 ming from a sexual-related offense that has been re19 ferred to an appellate court within the military or 

20 that has been referred to the Department of Justice. 

21 ‘‘(5) Submitting to the Secretary of Defense, 

22 Congress, and the Attorney General a report on each 

23 request by the Director of Military Prosecutions for 

24 a referral to a higher court. 


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1 ‘‘(6) Advising the Sexual Assault Oversight and 

2 Response Office on— 

3 ‘‘(A) the development of sexual assault re4 porting protocols; 

5 ‘‘(B) the development of sexual assault 

6 risk-reduction and response training; 

7 ‘‘(C) the development of sexual assault pol8 icy; and 

9 ‘‘(D) the effectiveness of the Director of 

10 Military Prosecution.’’. 

11 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

12 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding 

13 at the end the following new item: 

‘‘188. Sexual Assault Oversight and Response Council.’’. 

14 SEC. 4. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE SEXUAL ASSAULT OVER15 SIGHT AND RESPONSE OFFICE. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 4 of title 10, United 

17 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol18 lowing new section: 

19 ‘‘§ 145. Sexual Assault Oversight and Response Office 

20 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is in the Department 

21 a Sexual Assault Oversight and Response Office (herein22 after in this section referred to as the ‘Office’). The head 

23 of the Office is the Executive Director of the Sexual As24 sault Oversight and Response Office, who shall be apVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:16 Nov 17, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3435.IH H3435

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1 pointed by the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with 

2 the President. 

3 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Office shall be respon4 sible for the following: 

5 ‘‘(1) Coordination with appropriate military 

6 criminal investigative organizations to carry out in7 vestigations of accusations of sexual assault. 

8 ‘‘(2) Coordination and oversight of the provi9 sion of the three fundamental rights of victims of 

10 sexual assault, safety, security, and a place to com11 municate and to be validated. 

12 ‘‘(3) Determining whether alleged victims or al13 leged perpetrators of sexual assault should be tem14 porarily reassigned to be separated from the alleged 

15 assailant. 

16 ‘‘(4) Establishing protocols to ensure that all 

17 reports of sexual assault are taken out of the chain 

18 of command and reported directly to the Office. 

19 ‘‘(5) Providing instruction in referring alleged 

20 victims of sexual assault to the Office to the fol21 lowing personnel: 

22 ‘‘(A) Sexual assault coordinators. 

23 ‘‘(B) Sexual assault prevention and re24 sponse victim advocates. 

25 ‘‘(C) Health care personnel. 


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1 ‘‘(D) Chaplains. 

2 ‘‘(E) Unit commanders. 

3 ‘‘(F) Investigators and law enforcement 

4 personnel. 

5 ‘‘(G) Judge advocates. 

6 ‘‘(6) Maintaining the Military Sexual Registry 

7 under section 563 of the Duncan Hunter National 

8 Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 

9 (Public Law 110–417). 

10 ‘‘(c) COORDINATION OF TRAINING.—The Executive 

11 Director shall coordinate the training efforts of the Office 

12 with each of the military departments to ensure that all 

13 members of the Armed Forces receive— 

14 ‘‘(1) the contact information for the Sexual As15 sault Oversight and Response Office for purposes of 

16 reporting violations of sexual-related offenses; and 

17 ‘‘(2) clear, written guidelines regarding who on 

18 the Sexual Assault Oversight and Response Office to 

19 contact, including the direct telephone number for a 

20 victims’ advocate, and what steps to take in the 

21 event of a sexual assault. 

22 ‘‘(d) PERSONNEL.—For the purposes of carrying out 

23 the responsibilities of the Office, the Executive Director 

24 of the Sexual Assault Oversight and Response Office, in 

25 consultation with the Sexual Assault Response Council esVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:16 Nov 17, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3435.IH H3435

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1 tablished under section 188 of this title, may select, ap2 point, and employ such officers and employees as may be 

3 necessary, subject to the provisions of title 5, United 

4 States Code, governing appointments in the competitive 

5 service, and the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter 

6 III of chapter 53 of such title, relating to classification 

7 and General Schedule pay rates. 

8 ‘‘(f) INSPECTOR GENERAL REVIEWS.—The Inspector 

9 General shall conduct case reviews of a statistically signifi10 cant number of cases involving allegations of sexual as11 sault on a quarterly basis to determine if proper proce12 dures were followed in accordance with the sexual assault 

13 protocols and guidelines within the Sexual Assault Over14 sight and Response Office. 

15 ‘‘(g) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Executive Direc16 tor shall submit to Congress an annual report on sexual 

17 assault in the Armed Forces. 

18 ‘‘(h) DEFINITION OF MILITARY CRIMINAL INVES19 TIGATIVE ORGANIZATION.—In this section, the term ‘mili20 tary criminal investigative organization’ means the Army 

21 Criminal Investigation Command, the Naval Criminal In22 vestigative Service, and the Air Force Office of Special In23 vestigations.’’. 


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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

2 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding 

3 at the end the following new item: 

‘‘145. Sexual Assault Oversight and Response Office.’’. 

4 (c) TRANSFER OF FUNCTION.—All functions and 

5 personnel of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response 

6 Office of the Department of Defense, as of the date of 

7 the enactment of this Act, shall be transferred to the Sex8 ual Assault Oversight and Response Office established by 

9 section 145 of title 10, United States Code, as added by 

10 subsection (a). 

11 SEC. 5. DIRECTOR OF MILITARY PROSECUTIONS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 47 of title 10, United 

13 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 940 the 

14 following new section: 

15 ‘‘§ 940A. Art. 140A. Director of Military Prosecutions 

16 ‘‘(a) APPOINTMENT.—There is a Director of Military 

17 Prosecutions who shall be appointed by the Sexual Assault 

18 Oversight and Response Council established under section 

19 188 of this title. 

20 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—Notwithstanding any other 

21 provision of this chapter, the Director of Military Prosecu22 tions shall have independent and final authority to oversee 

23 the prosecution of all sexual-related offenses committed by 

24 a member of the Armed Forces and shall refer cases to 

25 be tried by courts-martial. The Director may, at any time 


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1 prior to the judge rendering a verdict, request that the 

2 sexual-related offense be referred to a military appellate 

3 court or referred to the Department of Justice. The Direc4 tor shall be the convening authority for all sexual-related 

5 offenses and shall determine the type of court-martial to 

6 which each such case will be referred. Members of a court7 martial shall be selected by a court-martial administrator 

8 at the request of the Director. 

9 ‘‘(c) SEXUAL-RELATED OFFENSE.—In this section, 

10 the term ‘sexual-related offense’ means— 

11 ‘‘(1) rape; 

12 ‘‘(2) aggravated sexual assault; 

13 ‘‘(3) abusive sexual contact; 

14 ‘‘(4) indecent assault; 

15 ‘‘(5) nonconsensual sodomy; 

16 ‘‘(6) an attempt to commit an offense described 

17 in any of paragraphs (1) through (5); and 

18 ‘‘(7) any other sexual offense the Secretary de19 termines is appropriate.’’. 

20 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

21 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 

22 after the item relating to section 940 the following new 

23 item: 

‘‘940A. Art. 140A. Director of Military Prosecutions.’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. INFORMATION DATABASE ON SEXUAL ASSAULT IN2 CIDENTS IN THE ARMED FORCES. 

3 Section 563 of the Duncan Hunter National Defense 

4 Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 (Public Law 110– 

5 417) is amended by striking subsections (a) and (b) and 

6 inserting the following new subsections: 

7 ‘‘(a) MILITARY SEXUAL REGISTRY.— 

8 ‘‘(1) DATABASE REQUIRED.—The Secretary of 

9 Defense shall implement a centralized, case-level 

10 database, to be known as the ‘Military Sexual Reg11 istry’, for the collection, in a manner consistent with 

12 Department of Defense regulations for restricted re13 porting, and maintenance of information regarding 

14 sexual assaults involving a member of the Armed 

15 Forces, including information, if available, about the 

16 nature of the assault, the victim, the offender, and 

17 the outcome of any legal proceedings in connection 

18 with the assault. The Secretary shall consult with 

19 the Attorney General to ensure that the Military 

20 Sexual Registry is designed to facilitate the report21 ing of relevant information about individuals in22 cluded in the database to the Department of Justice 

23 for inclusion in the National Sex Offender Registry 

24 established under section 119 of the Adam Walsh 

25 Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (42 U.S.C. 

26 16919). 


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1 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION REQUIRED.—The Military 

2 Sexual Registry shall include the following informa3 tion about each individual who is a member of the 

4 Armed Forces who is convicted of committing a sex5 ual assault: 

6 ‘‘(A) The name of the individual, including 

7 any alias used by the individual. 

8 ‘‘(B) All relevant aspects of the case 

9 against the individual. 

10 ‘‘(C) The Social Security number of the in11 dividual. 

12 ‘‘(D) The address of each residence where 

13 the individual resides or plans to reside. 

14 ‘‘(E) The license plate number and a de15 scription of any vehicle owned or operated by 

16 the individual. 

17 ‘‘(F) A criminal history of the individual, 

18 including the date of all sexual offenses com19 mitted by the individual, the date of any convic20 tion of the individual for a sexual offense, and 

21 the status of the individual’s parole, probation, 

22 or supervised release. 

23 ‘‘(G) A DNA sample of the individual. 

24 ‘‘(H) A current photograph of the indi25 vidual. 


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1 ‘‘(I) Any other information required by the 

2 Secretary. 

3 ‘‘(b) LOCATION OF DATABASE.—The Military Sexual 

4 Registry shall be housed at and maintained by the Sexual 

5 Assault Oversight and Response Office of the Department 

6 of Defense under section 145 of title 10, United States 

7 Code.’’. 

Æ 


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