Mother Of Slain Pregnant Marine Testifies For More Protection Against Sexual Assault In Military

The mother of a slain pregnant Camp Lejeune Marine will appearing in Washington Thursday at a hearing. Mary Lauterbach will testify about a proposed bill that will help prevent sexual assault in the military.

Her daughter, Maria Lauterbach, was killed in Dec. 2007. Prior to her death, she had made rape allegations and had taken out protective orders against fellow Marine Cesar Laurean. Laurean is now charged with her murder, and is awaiting extradition in Mexico.

House Resolution 379 calls for a review and overhaul of how the military handles sexual assault cases. Under the bill, the Department of Defense would have to develop a comprehensive plan to prevent rape and sexual assault within the armed forces.

Specific recommendations made in the legislation include: a review of current training methods for all military investigations, a policy to notify local civilian authorities of any military protection order, and the option of a base transfer after any service member reports sexual assault to their command and a military order has been issued.