Senator expresses disgust over sex crimes by UN peacekeepers

WASHINGTON (AP) - A U.S. senator says he'd rush home to protect his family if he learned that U.N. peacekeepers were being sent there.

U.S. laws make it unlikely that peacekeepers would ever be dispatched to the U.S. But Bob Corker of Tennessee wanted to make the point that he is disgusted by allegations of child rape and other sexual abuses by U.N. peacekeepers.

At a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing Wednesday, Corker said he'd jump on a plane right away if he knew that a peacekeeping mission was going to North Chattanooga, where his wife lives.

The U.N. faces allegations of sexual abuses by its peacekeepers, especially those based in Central African Republic and Congo. The U.N. says there were 69 allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation by peacekeepers in 2015.