U.S. Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) on April 29 sponsored a bipartisan bill that would amend the Uniform Code of Military Justice to eliminate the statute of limitations for child abuse and rape offenses committed by sentenced members of the U.S. Armed Services.
Harmony’s Law, H.R. 2388, would help keep military offenders found guilty of a crime from being freed from jail on a technicality, according to Rep. Mast. The measure is cosponsored by U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) and 9 other lawmakers.
H.R. 2388 is named for Harmony Allen of Port St. Lucie, Fla., who was raped during her third month in the U.S. Air Force by her instructor. He was found guilty and sentenced to jail time, but then freed when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces misinterpreted the congressionally mandated statute of limitations, Rep. Mast said.
“Harmony’s rapist was set free because of an absurd appeals court ruling that directly contradicts Congress’ intent to hold military members who commit rape accountable,” Rep. Mast said. “This is a massive miscarriage of justice for Harmony and many others, which is why Congress needs to intervene to prevent possibly hundreds of rapists from being set free without repercussion.”
In the National Defense Authorization Acts (NDAA) of fiscal years 1987 and 2006, Congress made its intent clear that such offenses have no statute of limitations in the military. However, the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces ruled in U.S. v. Mangahas that the statute of limitations is five years for sexual assaults that occurred before 2006, according to information provided by Rep. Mast’s office.
As a result, convicted sexual offenders in the military now may appeal their convictions and be set free if they committed the offense before 2006 but were not charged within five years.
If enacted, H.R. 2388 would authorize the House Office of General Counsel to represent the interests of Congress in any cases related to the Mangahas decision and eliminate statutes of limitations for sexual offenses in the military against children, among other provisions.