The top prosecutor in charge of sexual assault cases for the US army is under investigation and has been suspended for allegedly assaulting a lawyer working with him two years ago.



News of the investigation of Lt Col Joseph “Jay” Morse, who supervised the army’s almost two dozen special victims prosecutors in charge of cases of sexual assault, domestic abuse and crimes against children, was first published in Stars and Stripes on Thursday. The story was confirmed to the Guardian by an army official.

According to the Stripes website, a female army lawyer alleged that Morse tried to “kiss and grope her against her will” in a hotel room while they attended a 2011 conference on sexual assault. To date, no charges have been filed in the case, it said.

In an email, an army official told the Guardian: “We can confirm that this matter is currently under investigation and that the individual in question has been suspended from duties, pending the outcome of the investigation.

“Given that this is still an open case, we are precluded from providing any additional information at this point.”

Morse, chief of the Trial Counsel Assistance Program at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, was also the lead prosecutor in the case against a soldier who pleaded guilty to killing 16 Afghan civilians, Staff Sgt Robert Bales.

It is the third time over the past 12 months in which a military official involved in the prevention or handling of sex assault cases has been accused of assault.

Last year, Lt Col Jeffrey Krusinki, the head of the air force branch of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Programme was accused of assault and battery outside an Arlington strip club. He was acquitted in a civilian court.

A soldier assigned as a Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention (Sharp) program co-ordinator in Fort Hood, Texas, was also investigated for allegedly assaulting his peers and forcing a subordinate into prostitution.

News of the latest allegations emerged at a time of fierce debate in Congress about how to best respond to rising numbers of sexual assault in the armed forces. Last year, the Department of Defence reported 26,000 instances of military sexual assault in 2012.

On Thursday, the Senate rejected a bipartisan bill that would have removed military commanders from decisions over the prosecution of sexual assault cases in the armed forces – a blow to victims’ groups, who said that such radical reforms are necessary to combat the problem. The bill was vehemently opposed by military leaders in all branches.

The Military Justice Improvement Bill, written by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, of New York, received 55 votes, five short of the 60 needed, after her fellow Democrat Claire McCaskill of Missouri and others opposed it. McCaskill who has the backing of military officials for her own reforms that incorporate the chain of command in the decision making process on prosecution of military sexual assault, has taken a strong opposing stance against Gillibrand’s bill.

Also on Thursday, a US army general accused of sexual assault pleaded guilty to having an adulterous affair, but continued to challenge charges that he sexually assaulted a female captain during a three-year relationship. Brig Gen Jeffrey Sinclair, 51, also pleaded guilty to having pornography in Afghanistan and to seeking nude photographs of junior officers.