An Afghan refugee allegedly committed an unlawful act with a child while being housed at a U.S. military base awaiting resettlement.
The incident occurred at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia last year after the Taliban rose to power in August in Afghanistan. Thousands of Afghan refugees were housed at the base after fleeing from the Taliban, and the last of them were resettled by Christmas, according to Military.com.
Quantico was one of eight military bases in the United States that housed Afghan evacuees after U.S. and coalition forces evacuated more than 120,000 people from Afghanistan in August during the final days of the 20-year U.S. conflict there.https://t.co/tVwi9ey2Uo
— Stars and Stripes (@starsandstripes) January 6, 2022
Citing an Inspector General report, Military.com reported that there was one “major criminal security incident” at Quantico involving the refugees. It occurred when one evacuee committed “what appeared to be an unlawful act with a child.”
After an investigation by security personnel, the refugee was quickly handed over to the FBI. (RELATED: Ex-Afghanistan President Who Fled Says Trump’s Deal With Taliban ‘Erased Us’)
The 3,755 refugees housed at Quantico ran up a bill of $188 million for the Marine Corps and the Pentagon, according to the IG report. Quantico is only one of eight bases that housed more than 67,000 refugees, and Congress has approved $13.3 billion for the refugee resettlement effort so far.
There were three housing encampments set up at the base, with electricity and internet services. Refugees were served three hot meals per day from four different dining facilities, and participated in movie nights, dance nights and sports tournaments. They were taught classes on English, American culture, hygiene and women’s health, according to the IG report.
The aforementioned crime with a child was the only major criminal incident reported, according to the IG report.