Fort Campbell sex abuse response chief arrested in domestic dispute

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. Army officials say the manager of the sexual assault response program at Fort Campbell has been arrested in a domestic dispute and relieved of his post.

Lt. Col. Darin Haas turned himself in to police late Wednesday on charges of violating an order of protection and stalking. A spokesman for the post on the Tennessee-Kentucky line say Haas was immediately removed as manager of a program meant to prevent sexual harassment and assault and encourage equal opportunity.

Master Sgt. Pete Mayes said Haas and his ex-wife have orders of protection against each other.

Sgt. Chuck Gill of the Clarksville, Tenn., police said Haas' ex-wife said he repeatedly contacted her Wednesday night despite the order.

Allegations of sexual assault in the military have triggered outrage from local commanders to Capitol Hill and the Oval Office.

On May 14, a soldier assigned to coordinate an assault prevention program at Fort Hood in Texas is accused of "abusive sexual contact"and other alleged misconduct involving three women. Officials say he is accused of arranging one of the women to have sex for money.

A week before that, and Air Force officer who headed a sexual assault prevention office was arrested on charges of groping a woman in a parking lot.

On Thursday, a group of lawmakers gathered on Capitol Hill to introduce legislation that would overhaul the military justice system by removing chain-of-command influence from prosecution of sex abuse crimes.

"This is sickening. Twice now, in a matter of as many weeks, we've seen the very people charged with protecting victims of sexual assault being charged as perpetrators," Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said earlier in the day.

President Barack Obama met with the Joint Chiefs of Staff Thursday to look into the growing problem. The president pledged a "sustained effort" to combat the problem of sexual assaults in the military, warning that "there's no silver bullet to solving this problem," but promising, "We will not stop until we've seen this scourge...eliminated."