Official Defense Department data revealed sexual assaults involving the children of military members occur hundreds of times each year.

According to The Associated Press, more often than not, the culprits were found to be other enlisted troops or family members of the victims.

From 2010 to 2014, there were at least 1,584 substantiated cases of military dependents being sexually abused, according to the data. In 840 of those cases, enlisted service members were found to be the abusers. 

Though the research offered much greater insight into the alarming problem of sexual abuse of children of military members, the full weight of the dilemma remains uncertain due to a lack of transparency in related military legal proceedings. Data made available omitted the ages of the offenders and victims, the locations of the incidents, and the service branches that received reports of sexual abuse.

In a statement, the Defense Department said, "Information that could unintentionally uniquely identify victims was withheld from release to eliminate possible 're-victimization' of the innocent."

It's also not known how many of the incidents ended in legal action being taken, though a recent AP investigation found more inmates are in military prisons for child sex crimes than for any other offense.

At least partly in response to AP's findings, a trio of Democratic senators have urged Defense Secretary Ash Carter to lift what they called the military justice system's "cloak of secrecy" and make records from sex-crimes trials readily accessible.

Sens. Barbara Boxer of California, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Mazie Hirono of Hawaii also noted that child sex-assault cases are not included in the Defense Department's annual report to Congress on sexual assaults. The senators told Carter in a letter on Dec. 8, 2015 that they are concerned the department may be underestimating how many sexual assaults are occurring in the military.