The Facebook page where Marines allegedly shared nude photos of women without their consent is just "the tip of the spear," as cyber predators can safely operate on many websites, the Corps' top enlisted adviser told lawmakers on Wednesday.
"The places these individuals can go and hide have not been addressed in a legal manner — they absolutely have not," Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Ronald Green said at a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing.
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is looking into possibly pursuing felony charges against some of the Marines who posted naked pictures of women without their permission on the Marines United Facebook page.
Some Marines involved could face charges such as "indecent viewing, visual recording or broadcasting" and discrediting the Marine Corps, Green said on Wednesday.
"I'm waiting to see how we're going to address this because I guarantee there are going to be some gaps at trying to get at this," Green said. "We need the teeth to get at it. There needs to be a direct law that addresses this type of activity in that cyber world. I don't think anyone can tell me the direct law that gets at this."
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., asked Green if the Marine Corps lacks the tools needed to prosecute Marines who engage in illegal activity online.
Although the Marine Corps has the legal authority to investigate cases like Marines United, the law does not allow the Corps to proactively look for cyber predators before they are reported, Green replied.
"We have the tools once they've committed the act, ma'am," Green said. "The legal world that I'm talking about is the monitoring of the information that is out there … the ability to watch for it before it happens."
When the Marine Corps learns about people committing crimes online, it can seek warrants to search cyberspace, Green said. But the law is unclear about whether Marine Forces Cyberspace Command can be used as part of such investigations, he said.
In addition to investigating cybercrimes, the Marine Corps also instructs Marines that they are not innocent bystanders if they know about illegal activity online but fail to report it, he said.
Green acknowledged that female Marines whose pictures appeared on the Marines United Facebook page could be blackmailed. Those Marines are being provided with legal assistance.
News about the nude photo sharing scandal first broke on Saturday, when it was reported by Marine veteran Thomas Brennan, a Purple Heart recipient who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
As if to underscore Green's point, CNN reported on Wednesday that Marines United members were directing other members to new Facebook pages, including one called Marines United 2, which promises to prevent any users from revealing its content.
After Green and Marine Commandant Gen. Robert Neller issued statements on Saturday about the story, Neller followed up with a brief video on Tuesday telling Marines that if they cannot live up to Marine Corps values "then I have to ask you: Do you really want to be a Marine?"
On Wednesday, Wasserman Schultz chided Marine Corps leadership for its initial responses to the scandal, which did not express "the level of outrage that, I think, most women would have felt was necessary."
Green replied that there are limits to what the Marine Corps can say about ongoing investigations. After former Commandant Gen. James Amos said in a speech that 80 percent of sexual assault accusations are legitimate, an appellate judge overturned an 18-year sentence for a Marine convicted of rape because the judge felt jurors had been influenced by Amos' comments.
"I understand that everyone wants us to come out and be outraged — and we are outraged," Green said. "There are some things we'd like to say. It's disrespectful. We don't condone it. That's what we said in the beginning. We will do what's right and we will do what's legal to take action on those individuals."
