A House panel fumed Thursday, July 31, after the Pentagon barred the head of its office on sexual assault prevention and response from testifying.

The subcommittee, which included U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Centerville, ordered the director of the Pentagon’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office to testify about how the military was cracking down on such incidents.

But Pentagon officials blocked her appearance.

They ordered her boss, principal Deputy Undersecretary for Defense Michael Dominguez, to testify in her stead.

Lawmakers derided the decision as “ridiculous.”

To Mary Lauterbach of Vandalia, whose daughter, Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, was slain in the aftermath of her rape investigation, it was another example of the military failing to take seriously sexual assault in its ranks.

“The absolute contempt towards congressional oversight, I thought, spoke very loudly about the way they look at this,” she said. “They think, ‘It’s none of your business. Go away.’ “

Source: Dayton Daily News