At least 3 kid-on-kid sex assault cases at Tenn. Navy base

The TBI is investigating an officer-involved shooting in Cookeville.
The TBI is investigating an officer-involved shooting in Cookeville.

MILLINGTON, Tenn. (AP) - A decade after the Pentagon began confronting rape in the ranks, the U.S. military frequently fails to provide justice to the children of service members when they are sexually assaulted by other kids on base.

An Associated Press investigation finds that sex assault cases occurring where military kids live and learn often die on the desks of prosecutors. Criminal investigators shelved an unknown number of reports.

Instead of punishment or rehabilitation, offenders may be shuffled into the civilian world.

The Pentagon doesn't know the extent of the problem. In Tennessee, records show at least three sex assault cases among children or teens since 2007 at Naval Support Activity Mid-South.

Pentagon officials say they take seriously "any incident impacting the well-being" of service members or families and promised "appropriate actions."

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