Title 10, Armed ForcesRelease 119-110

§1599j Restricted Reports of Incidents of Adult Sexual Assault

Title 10 › Subtitle A — General Military Law › PART II — PERSONNEL › CHAPTER 81 — CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES › § 1599j

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of Defense may let a civilian DoD employee make a restricted report of an alleged adult sexual assault to a designated staff member so the employee can get information and approved victim services. A restricted report generally will not be shared with the employee’s supervisor or other management and will not start a federal civil or criminal investigation, unless the Secretary decides disclosure is needed to stop or lessen a serious and imminent safety threat to the reporter or someone else. Receiving a restricted report does not make the Department officially “know” about the assault for other legal purposes. Civilian employee: defined by 5 U.S.C. 2105. Sexual assault: defined by 10 U.S.C. 920 (Article 120) and includes penetrative and sexual contact offenses.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §1599j

Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Restricted Reports.—

The Secretary of Defense may provide a civilian employee of the Department of Defense an opportunity to submit to an individual described in subsection (d) a restricted report of an alleged incident of adult sexual assault for the purpose of assisting the employee in obtaining information and access to authorized victim support services provided by the Department.

(b)Restrictions on Disclosures and Initiating Investigations.—

Unless the Secretary determines that a disclosure is necessary to prevent or mitigate a serious and imminent safety threat to the employee submitting the report or to another person, a restricted report submitted pursuant to subsection (a) shall not—

(1)be disclosed to the supervisor of the employee or any other management official; or

(2)cause the initiation of a Federal civil or criminal investigation.

(c)Duties Under Other Laws.—

The receipt of a restricted report submitted under subsection (a) shall not be construed as imputing actual or constructive knowledge of an alleged incident of sexual assault to the Department of Defense for any purpose.

(d)Individuals Authorized to Receive Restricted Reports.—

An individual described in this subsection is an individual who performs victim advocate duties under a program for one or more of the following purposes (or any other program designated by the Secretary):

(1)Sexual assault prevention and response.

(2)Victim advocacy.

(3)Equal employment opportunity.

(4)Workplace violence prevention and response.

(5)Employee assistance.

(6)Family advocacy.

(e)Definitions.—

In this section: (1) Civilian employee.—

(2)Sexual assault.—

The term “sexual assault” has the meaning given that term in section 920 of this title (article 120 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), and includes penetrative offenses and sexual contact offenses.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 1599j

Title 10, Armed Forces

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110