Officials at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado are saying that three of the academy's cadets committed sexual assault crimes over the past 15 months. Two of the cadets are accused of fondling women while they were intoxicated. The third cadet faces even more serious charges of raping and forcing female cadets to perform sex acts upon him.

The charges came to light just a few days after the Defense Department released a report that noted an increase in the number of sexual assaults at the country's military academies. There were 65 reports of sexual assault in the most recent academic year at the academies, up from 41 reports in the previous year.

One cadet is accused of overpowering female cadets, raping at least one, and forcing other women to perform sex acts on him at least three times. The cadet has been charged with rape, unlawful sex acts, engaging in an unprofessional relationship and conduct unbecoming an officer.

The other two cadets have been charged with committing sexual assault on women while they were "substantially incapacitated," apparently referring to intoxication. The cadets allegedly committed the assaults in separate incidents.

The criminal cases will proceed under military law. The charges are considered "preferred charges." The next step in the three cases is an Article 32 hearing, which is the equivalent of a grand jury, according to the Air Force. Due to the preferred status of the charges, the hearing will determine whether to move forward with court martials against the three cadets.

Source: Chicago Tribune, "Air Force charges three cadets with sex crimes," Keith Coffman, Jan. 5, 2012