Defense Dept. Investigating Reports That Marines Shared Naked Photos of Colleagues Without Consent
The Department of Defense is looking into reports that male Marines shared photos of naked female Marines — some of which were taken without the subjects’ consent — in a secret Facebook group, according to the AP.
Here is what the Naval Criminal Investigative Service is now looking at:
The photographs were shared on the Facebook page “Marines United,” which had a membership of active-duty and retired male Marines, Navy Corpsman and British Royal Marines. Along with identified female military members were photographs of unidentifiable women in various stages of undress, and included obscene comments about some of the women, officials said.
It is not known how many active-duty Marines or service members are involved at this time, but more than two dozen active-duty women, officers and enlisted, were identified by their rank, full name and location in the photographs on the Facebook page. A Google Drive full of photos reportedly had a following of 30,000.
A Marine veteran named Thomas Brennan first blew the whistle on the activity using his nonprofit news service The War Horse. His site is described as one “[t]o provide focus, clarity, and insight into America’s longest-running wars by including all interested parties in an open and candid dialogue.” The War Horse focuses specifically on the human experience of war and trauma.
On its homepage, there is a pop-up that says this:
Thanks to The War Horse the nonconsensual porn ring was busted. Now, any Marine guilty of posting an explicit photo of someone else could potentially be charged with violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Even one who participated in or encouraged such an action could face criminal proceedings.
Go here for the full report, including reactions from high-ranking officials. (Spoiler alert: they’re not happy.)
[image via USMC]
——
