Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Krusinski, the officer responsible for leading the Air Force’s anti-sexual harassment team has been arrested and charged with sexual harassment himself.
Krusinski, 41, was arrested on Sunday after he allegedly groped a woman in a parking lot near Arlington, Virginia. According to Reuters, while he is under investigation, he has been removed from the Air Force's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office.
Pentagon spokesman George Little said that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told Air Force Secretary Michael Donley that he was outraged and disgusted by the “troubling allegations,” adding “that this matter will be dealt with swiftly and decisively.”
Little added, “Sexual assault has no place in the United States military. The American people, including our service members, should expect a culture of absolutely no tolerance for this deplorable behavior.”
Fox News reports that police said Krusinski was drunk at the time when he walked towards a woman and “grabbed her breasts and buttocks.” The woman, who didn’t know him, called police after fighting him off.
He was booked and released on $5,000 bond. His arraignment is set for Thursday.
This embarrassing incident went public just before the release of a Pentagon report on sexual assault in the military. According to NBC News, the independent annual report will show that the number of reported assaults grew to 3,374 in the 2012 fiscal year. Anonymous claims jumped from 19,000 in 2011 to 26,000 in 2012.