Fort Hood shamed sexual assault victims, missed 'textbook' grooming, 'serial' offenders, investigators say

Fort Hood leadership blocked sexual assault reporting, shamed victims and failed to identify "textbook" examples of grooming and "serial" offenders, investigators told Congress this week, following an independent review conducted in the wake of 20-year-old soldier Vanessa Guillén’s disappearance and murder, and a string other deaths and suicides connected to the U.S. Army base in Killeen, Texas.

"There was a serious risk there that should've been known by the leadership. The NCOs [non-commissioned officers] became the blockers," Chris Swecker, chairman of the review panel, said. "They did not facilitate or encourage reporting and were part of the shaming of victims." "One of the most disturbing things we came across was within two days we were able to identify two or three serial offenders," Swecker told lawmakers as he recalled when independent investigators first began the review. Fort Hood "didn't have enough experienced agents on board to connect the dots and address that intelligence," he added.