Sex Abuse Against Children Higher in Canadian Military, Study Finds

The Defence Department is baffled by figures that show child pornography and sexual violations against children are abnormally high in the military community.

It’s either a disturbing trend or a glitch in the counting method. Military officials are urging Canadians not to jump to conclusions over the survey, which was ordered following the arrest of then-Col. Russell Williams, saying that the way in which sex crimes against children are reported is different in the military. For one thing, military police have much easier access to service members’ computers, making child pornography easier to catch. Military police also said that the higher incidence of sexual violations against children could be attributed to teen-on-teen assaults at Canadian Forces military training centres. A spokesperson for the Provost Marshal office said the military is still looking into what’s behind the numbers.