Servicemen are sharing nude photos of servicewomen online

Just days after it was revealed that members of the Facebook group 'Marine's United'  were sharing nude photos of females, it is coming to light that the same is occurring among other branches of the military. 

Now the Defense Department is looking into different websites and online outlets through which members of the armed forces have shared nude photographs of women, many taken without their knowledge or permission. 

The investigation started out with just the Marines, but has spread to all branches of the military. 

The U.S. Department of Defense is looking into different websites and online outlets through which members of the armed forces have shared nude photographs of women, many taken without their knowledge or permission

A website, titled Anon-IB gained notoriety for publishing nude photographs of celebrities, such as Jennifer Lawrence. 

Now it has been revealed that it contains a message board for military personnel to exchange comments and crude photos of female service members, or partners of service members. Some of the female members are even identified by name or duty station, reported CBS News. 

Some of the photos posted are extremely pornographic, however others are just snaps of service women following requests for 'wins' which is a slang term for nude photos. 

 A website, titled Anon-IB contains a message board for military personnel to exchange comments and crude photos of female service members, or partners of service members

The message board came to light days after the story of women whose nude photos were posted in the Facebook group 'Marines United' gained national attention. 

The group had hundreds, possibly thousands of explicit photos of unsuspecting servicewomen, some who were on active duty.

After the existence of the group was made public, members have been redirected to new pages, including one titled Marines United 2, or MU2. Some are also posting on groups with similar names, requesting nude photos. 

According to CNN, members have even taken to taunting federal and military investigators, with one writing: 'It would be hilarious if one of these FBI or (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) f***s found their wife on here,' on the original Marines United page.

Members of the group also shared a link to a cloud storage site containing more than 2,500 images of women in stages of undress or engaging in sexual acts. 

There were 30,000 followers of the secret Facebook group and many members made sexually aggressive comments about the victims. Some suggested in the 2,500 photo comments that the servicemen perform sexual acts with the women and film it for the other members.

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Earlier this week, two of the victims whose pictures were leaked on the group spoke out how the experience had affected them.  

Senior Master Sergeant Ronald Green told Congress that Marines United is just the 'tip of the spear,' and a former Marine turned journalist James LaPorta said Marines United is spreading to other group chats. 

Officials said that they have received reports of at least six other websites or groups.

Captain Ryan Alvis, public affairs officer for the Marines, told CBS News: 'Whoever runs it kept moving it, making it hard to even find what the scope of it was.'

'People will immediately start blaming victims, and we are most concerned about them. They may have taken pics meant to be private and then those images could have been shared by a former close friend. So many questions that we just don't have answers to at this point.'

'The Marine Corps is deeply concerned about allegations regarding the derogatory online comments and sharing of salacious photographs in a closed website. This behavior destroys morale, erodes trust, and degrades the individual. The Marine Corps does not condone this sort of behavior, which undermines our core values. As General Neller said in his recent Message to the Force, the Marine Corps' success in battle depends on trust, mutual respect, and teamwork.'The Marine Corps takes every allegation of misconduct seriously.'

He went on to say the people involved will be held accountable for their actions.

The Marines also released a 10 page document addressing how the misogynistic nature of the group is unacceptable.

The War Horse journalist and former Marine Thomas Brennan received threats after exposing the group.

Members are allegedly posting his addresses and phone numbers of his friends and colleagues in the group.

Brennan told the Marine Corps Times: 'As a Marine veteran, I stand by the code: honor, courage and commitment. This story was published with the intention of standing up for what is right and staying true to the leadership principle of looking out for Marines and their families.'

These kinds of groups aren't new. In 2013, California Representative Jackie Speier wrote in a press release about a similar Marines Facebook group called 'F'N Wook'. She proposed multiple bills aimed to reduce sexual assault and sexual harassment in the Marines.

In an annual report the Pentagon released in May 2016, the U.S. military received about 6,000 reports of sexual assault in 2015, similar to the number in 2014, but such crimes are still under-represented.

Additionally, the behavior is so concerning to Pentagon officials because it can do real harm to the military by discouraging young women from joining the armed forces and convincing those already in uniform to retire, reported CBS. 

VICTIMS OF MARINE REVENGE PORN SPEAK OUT  

Two women have spoken out about dealing with revenge porn after it was revealed nude photos have been posted on a Facebook group called 'Marines United'.

Kelsie Stone broke up with her Marine boyfriend in 2016, and not long after received a text from a friend containing screenshots of the photos of her naked that had been posted the page.

They were allegedly posted by her ex-boyfriend, who she had sent the photos to while they were still dating.  

Kelsie Stone (pictured) broke up with her Marine boyfriend in 2016, and not long after received a text from a friend containing screenshots of the photos of her without clothes that had been posted to the page

Stone works as a bartender in a town with a lot of Marines, and said she often feels uncomfortable leaving her home because people recognize her from the photos and make comments. 

She told Marine Corps Times that people either make suggestive comments, saying that they liked what they saw, or call her a whore for sending them in the first place.

Stone works as a bartender in a town with a lot of Marines, and said she often feels uncomfortable leaving her home because people recognize her from the photos and make comments

Stone has also heard that her ex-boyfriend is receiving 'brownie points' with other Marines for his actions. 

She has little doubt that what her ex-boyfriend did rises to the level of sexual violence, and is considering moving as a result. 

'Some days I don't want to leave my house. I grew up a Marine brat and this isn't the Marine Corps image my dad fought to represent,' she told the Times.  

Her mother, Petra McGinnis, told the Times that Stone has been devastated from the fallout, especially because of the recent death of her best friend, who committed suicide.  

A second woman, Elle Audra, left the Marine Corps as a corporal in 2010 and is now a model, and believes that nude photos of her were also posted on the Facebook page. 

Audra told Marine Corps Times that she receives messages that generally say something like 'Where were you when I was in? I would've f***** you too?'

She said that the scariest message she received was from a man who said he knew when and where she had deployed, and who asked if she would have sex with him. 

Audra also said that she advocates for survivors of sexual assaults, and hopes that good can come out of the emerging scandal if it draws attention from officials in Washington.  

Elle Audra (right) said that the scariest message she received was from a man who said he knew when and where she had deployed, and who asked if she would have sex with him

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