Thousands of sexually explicit images of female service members were posted to a secret social media page despite the military’s year-long effort to crack down on such practices.
According to CBS News, a link to the site where the images are hosted has been turned over to criminal investigators who have spent the last year tracking down users of another Facebook group which trafficked in similar content called Marines United.
More than 30,000 active-duty Marines, veterans, and civilians were members of the closed online page.
A link to the site where the images are hosted has been turned over to criminal investigators
Marines United was subsequently shut down, but shortly thereafter smaller, harder to trace sub-groups began popping up. In total, an estimated 131,000 photos spread across 168 social media sites, CBS reported.
One of the first sites to host explicit pictures of female military servicemembers, Anon-IB, is still functioning and has yet to be taken off the Internet.
Former Marine Erin Kirk Cuomo (Pictured), who founded #NotInMyMarines helped expose the photo sharing scandal.
Former Marine Erin Kirk Cuomo, who founded #NotInMyMarines – which calls for the end of gender discrimination in the armed services- helped expose the photo sharing scandal.
‘One year later and not much has changed,’ Cuomo lamented in a tweet posted on Friday. ‘It’s all well and good to have policies, but until there is a deep-rooted culture change within the military, this is simply a piece of paper. Step up DOD, we demand action.’
Meanwhile, Vice News reported on Friday that at least 55 marines have been punished in the wake of the scandal – which included seven court-martials.
Another six were removed from the military by a commander; 15 received non-judicial punishments, which can mean a fine, a demotion, or extra duties; and 27 received adverse administrative actions, according to Vice.
Some of the charges the servicemen were reprimanded for included harassment and extortion along with filming and broadcasting videos.
‘The Marine Corps, with the support of NCIS, continues to identify, investigate, and hold accountable those who violate our policies and standards when they are brought to our attention,’ Marine Corps spokesperson Maj. Brian Block told VICE News in a statament.
US Marines of the 782 company from Fort Bragg, South Carolina, walk towards their barracks upon landing at Saudi Dhahran air base (Pictured: August 1990)
‘We take all allegations of misconduct seriously — disrespect, in any form, will not be tolerated,’ the statement added.
In response to the Marines United scandal last year, the military established the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
So far, it has identified at least 123 people who were linked to online misconduct, including explicit and non-consensual photo sharing, according to Vice.
Of that group, more than 20 were civilians and considered outside the Department of Defense’s jurisdiction. Another 101 were active-duty or reserve Marines.
The Marine Corps said that the NCIS task force decided to pursue 82 cases, of which 19 are still pending, Vice News noted.
The Department of Defense says that although it is placing considerable resource in trying to combat the problem, it admits that the speed at which the sites are able to grow makes it extremely difficult to curtail online sexual harassment and bullying.