ABCNEWS' Tom Jarriel

— -- Tom Jarriel joined ABCNEWS’ 20/20 as a correspondent in June 1979.

Jarriel has reported on a wide range of topics for 20/20, including a much-praised report on female members of the armed forces who allege they were raped and sexually abused while serving their country. This report offered an emotional and often disturbing glimpse at the experiences of women, including their allegations that the response from military officials was inadequate. At a time of intense news coverage of the new incidents of sexual abuse, the report included an exclusive interview with a young female soldier who says that her Army sergeant at the Army's Aberdeen Proving Grounds forced her to have sex with him.

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Jarriel also reported on a California serial killer who some say has manipulated the justice system during one of the longest and most expensive cases of its kind in American history. His report on "human guinea pigs" examined the price some medical volunteers have paid for participating in a research project which offered hope for people suffering from spinal cord injuries; and he also told the story of a Michigan mother who slapped her rebellious teenage daughter, never dreaming that she might be prosecuted for assault.

Jarriel also investigated allegations that military intelligence obtained by Saddam Hussein for the design of long-range weapons used against American soldiers may have originated from sources at a U.S. Army research laboratory.

In December of 1988, Jarriel anchored an ABCNEWS Special, "The Business of Defense: Flaws in the Shield," as part of the critically acclaimed "Burning Questions" series. The hour-long broadcast looked at the system of Pentagon procurement and how that system has been corrupted. The hour focused on the three different arms of the procurement system and the problems with each: The government (Pentagon and Congress), the military contractors who build the weapons, and the consultants who act as middlemen between the government and industry. Also in 1988, Jarriel anchored an ABCNEWS Special, "Life After Death Row." This hour-long program concentrated on the 102 men and women who were sentenced to death row in 1972 in California and who, due to a change in the law, had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment, thereby making them eligible for parole.