Under new law, military kids get sex assault protections

The Defense Department must improve how it responds to child-on-child sexual assault at U.S. military bases worldwide under a new law signed by President Donald Trump.

The Pentagon has been addressing sexual assault in the ranks for a decade. But an Associated Press investigation found that sexual assaults among the children of service members often fall into a black hole of justice.

Under a new law signed Monday, students in Pentagon-run schools now get the same legal protections as their counterparts in U.S. public schools. Both the Pentagon’s schools and the military also must overhaul how they address assault allegations.

The Pentagon says it’s studying the law but initial changes are coming to schools in September.

The reforms are part of defense legislation that also ups military pay and invests in advanced weaponry.

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