West Virginia senator: Women senators 'are on top of' military sexual assault reports

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) suggested in an interview on Tuesday that it was his female colleagues’ responsibility to monitor reports of sexual assault in the U.S. military.

"I talk to all the different senators, especially to our female senators, who are really on top of this and watching it very close and following it," Manchin said in a CBS News interview. "It is very concerning and I can tell you, we're all in concert with this, as far as changing the dynamics of what's going on in the military."

The interview came in the wake of news that an Air Force officer, Lt. Col. Jeff Krusinski, was arrested for allegedly groping a woman's breast and buttocks in Arlington, Texas. Krusinski's job involves preventing sexual assault within Air Force ranks.

A Pentagon report to be released on Tuesday will show a rise in the number of reported assaults in 2012 to more than 26,000. The report said more than 70 sexual assaults are committed against military members every day.

"It's not tolerated in any segment of our society," Manchin said. "And it surely, no way, should be tolerated in the military."

Watch Manchin's interview, aired Tuesday, below.

[h/t Sara Libby]