American service members in Afghanistan have relatively recently been officially required to report when U.S. taxpayer-funded Afghan security forces sexually abuse young boys, but they are “not obligated” to intervene and may be criminally punished for doing so, according to an audit by the Pentagon inspector general (IG).

Moreover, one American service member told that the IG U.S. troops were told to “ignore” the ancient pedophilic Afghan custom known as bacha bazi, or “playing with boys,” confirming the findings of a New York Times (NYT) article issued in September 2015.

The IG notes that reporting the incidents is necessary when a soldier actually observes child rape, and the soldier can intervene at that moment. Any action taken outside of actually witnessing the crime could result in disciplinary action.

“There’s no recourse to stop them from bacha bazi. Soldiers told to ignore it and drive on,” said the service member.