30 soldiers to be tried for sex allegations

Thirty soldiers accused of conducting sexual relations with an underage girl were expected to be court marshaled. The scandal surfaced several months ago after it was discovered that a large group of airforce soldiers had developed sexual relations with a 14-year-old girl living on their base. The military's Advocate General, Brig. -Gen. Avi Mendelblit decided not to file criminal complaints against those involved in the case. The airforce attorney's office advised Mendelblit not to file complaints against the accused, but rather settle the matter solely by court marshaling the suspects. Two low-ranking non-commissioned officers (NCO) who conducted sexual relations with the girl were to be dismissed from military service. A lieutenant and another NCO ranked sergeant major would also be court marshaled on account of their alleged knowledge of the repeated incidents; the two officers did not report the events to their superiors.