Hundreds of military kids are sexually abused each year, Pentagon data shows

Children holding the hand of a man in military uniform
(Image credit: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Children of military service members are sexually assaulted hundreds of times each year, according to an Associated Press report published Monday based on Defense Department data. The abuse is most often committed by enlisted men.

For perspective, there are more than one million military dependents in the U.S. But as AP notes, there's a lot we don't know about how the data breaks down, since the government omitted the ages of victims and offenders, locations, and branches of the military involved.

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Julie Kliegman

Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.