A female Army officer, Army Col Meghann Sullivan, is facing an investigation over allegations of multiple s3xual assaults of male subordinates and an overall pattern of s3xual harassment in the workplace.
Col. Meghann Sullivan, who commands the US Army’s 5th Security Force Assistance Brigade, has been accused of forcefully kissing a male subordinate and grabbing another below the belt without his consent.
The trailblazing commander, who is the first woman to lead a SFAB battalion, is also accused of sexually harassing several other male subordinates, according to a report by Military.com published Tuesday April 25.
She has been suspended as investigation continues.
“We have no information on that matter that we can share at this time,” Security Force Assistance Command spokesperson Sgt. 1st Class Adrian Patoka told Military.com. “We take any and all allegations seriously and handle them appropriately as circumstances dictate.”
The reported investigation comes as the US Army has battled sexual harassment claims in its ranks for several years, though male victims only account for about 10%, or 14,000 cases per year, of unwanted sexual contact, according to Defense Department data.
The amount of male victims is believed to be small as a result of social stigma male soldiers face when reporting sexual assault allegations.