Head of US Air Force's anti-sexual assault unit arrested for groping woman

The officer in charge of a program to curb sexual assault in the US Air Force was arrested over the weekend for allegedly grabbing a woman by the breasts and buttocks in a parking lot not far from the Pentagon, officials said on Monday. Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Krusinski, 41, was arrested on Sunday and charged with sexual battery after the alleged incident in the Crystal City area of suburban Arlington, Virginia.



Krusinski, the head of the Air Force's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, was removed from his job pending an investigation. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel later spoke to Air Force Secretary Michael Donley about the incident, expressing "outrage and disgust over the troubling allegations" and emphasizing "that this matter will be dealt with swiftly and decisively," Pentagon spokesman George Little said.

"Sexual assault has no place in the United States military," Little said. "The American people, including our service members, should expect a culture of absolutely no tolerance for this deplorable behaviour." An Arlington County Police spokesman said Krusinski, who was under the influence of alcohol, grabbed the woman by the breasts and buttocks in a parking lot. She fended him off, and when he tried to grab her again, she punched him in the face before calling the police, who arrived shortly thereafter and detained him.


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Krusinski posted a $5,000 bond and was released from the Arlington County Detention Facility, said the spokesman, who confirmed Krusinski's name and arrest but did not have his rank or title with the Air Force. The Air Force confirmed Krusinski was a lieutenant colonel in charge of the office responsible for overseeing the service's sexual assault policy and developing prevention and response programs.