The Guillén family and their lawyer, Natalie Khawam, held a press conference this Tuesday afternoon to report on their meeting with senior military commanders investigating the case of the Latina soldier killed in Fort Hood, Texas, in August of the year past.
"I just had a strong meeting with the Army commanders
,
"
Khawam said as soon as he took the podium to address the press.
“We have requested that Vanessa's superior who sexually harassed her be court-martialed.
We are asking for fact-finding, ”added the family's attorney.
[The Pentagon is in favor of eliminating the supervision of high command in cases of sexual assault in the Army]
The family and their legal representative denounced that the supervisor and two other people who allegedly sexually harassed Vanessa Guillén - and who have not yet been identified by the authorities - have not been expelled from the armed forces.
“People who sexually harassed Vanessa continue to receive a salary.
They took away their rank, moved them from one base to another, but they continue to receive a salary.
That does not solve the problem.
If someone harassed Vanessa, why is he not eliminated, why is he kept? "
Khawam questioned.
AUSTIN, TX - JULY 06: People pay respects at a mural of Vanessa Guillen, a soldier based at nearby Fort Hood on July 6, 2020 in Austin, Texas.
A suspect in the disappearance of Guillen, whose remains were found in a shallow grave, faced a judge Monday morning.
(Photo by Sergio Flores / Getty Images) Getty Images / Getty Images
Guillen's case attracted international attention in April last year after he disappeared from Fort Hood and caused outrage when his remains were discovered in July along a Bell County river.
Earlier this year, the Army released the results of an investigation into the events surrounding Guillén's death.
She died on April 22, 2020 and authorities believe Specialist Aaron Robinson killed her in a brutal manner.
According to investigators, Robinson managed to flee the scene undetected, but after a series of missteps he decided to kill himself with a firearm.
These are the revelations of the Army report on the case of Vanessa Guillén
April 30, 202101: 48
Among the findings of that report
, the investigators concluded that Guillén had been sexually harassed
and had reported him at least on two separate occasions.
It also ensures that the leadership at the Fort Hood base did not take adequate measures to respond to the attacks and that the accusations did not escalate the chain of command.
“It is encouraging that action is being taken in a couple of areas, that that is making progress at Fort Hood, but it is not enough.
Mr. and Mrs. Guillén want to know what happened to their daughter, ”said Representative Sylvia García, a Texas Democrat, who accompanied the family during the meeting with the military authorities at the press conference this afternoon.
Gloria Guillén contemplates a mural in tribute to her murdered daughter, Vanessa, after it was painted in November 2020 in southeast Houston, where the family resides. Damia Bonmatí
“The reality is that there are 13 people who have been demoted or suspended, but each one of them continues in the Army, they continue to receive their salary, they continue with all their privileges.
And the issue of the individual who harassed Vanessa is still pending, ”García added.
The Democratic representative announced
that next week the so-called 'Vanessa Guillén Law' will be voted on in the Upper House
to combat sexual harassment in the armed forces.
[Dozens of young ex-military men denounce sexual harassment in the Army: "When I see Vanessa Guillén, I see myself"]
For her part,
Gloria Guillén
, the mother of the soldier killed at Fort Hood,
criticized the lack of responses and forceful measures by the authorities
.
“From this research that Mr. Norris came to give us, it is nothing new.
I see the same, they are below their rank, but they are not punished.
They are changing bases, but they continue to pay them, there is no justice, ”said Gloria Guillén.
The family of the murdered Latina soldier promotes the "Yo Soy Vanessa Guillén" legislation to address reports of sexual harassment in the Army.
“Fort Hood is the worst curse that has ever happened to the United States, because they killed my daughter there.
The commandos overlapped it.
There is a dark and murky truth in Fort Hood.
Either that base is cleaned or closed ”, he declared.
Gloria Guillén also called on congressmen to approve the bill in honor of her daughter.
“That law will be in the name and in honor of my daughter.
Many soldiers have told me: "For us, Vanessa is a saint because she died,
but she is going to save us all and is going to change the laws in the Army,
" said the mother of the late Latin soldier.
