Following a controversial report alleging that the Pentagon ordered American soldiers to not report child abuse perpetuated by Afghan allies, the Department of Defense has denied that any such policy exists.

We previously reported that two Green Berets were given a “relief for cause” after they beat an Afghan officer for raping a child. An eye-opening New York Times report shows that this case wasn’t uncommon–American soldiers were confronted with Afghan military officers abusing young boys all the time, and they were even ordered by their superiors to look the other way. The phenomenon was so rampant that it even had a name–“bacha bazi,” or “boy play.”

“The reason we were here is because we heard the terrible things the Taliban were doing to people, how they were taking away human rights,” said Capt. Dan Quinn, one of the soldiers relieved of duty for trying to protect a young rape victim. “But we were putting people into power who would do things that were worse than the Taliban did — that was something village elders voiced to me.”

In response, the Department of Defense denied that they condoned child abuse or ordered troops to turn a blind eye.

“There is no such policy that U.S. troops should not report or intervene in situations where children are being sexually abused,” said Army Col. Brian Tribus, a spokesman for U.S. forces stationed in Afghanistan.

“Those are reports that are given over to the Afghan government,” said Navy Capt. Jeff Davis of the DoD. “We monitor these atrocities closely and we’ve repeatedly stood up for those who’ve suffered exploitation and denial of basic human freedoms. We work closely with the Afghan government and with their civil society and other organizations in Afghanistan to put an end to horrific practices like this. And we also incorporate human rights training into our training programs”