Rape charges filed against three Naval Academy football players
June 19
Three U.S. Naval Academy football players were charged Wednesday with raping a female midshipman and making false statements in the latest sexual assault scandal to roil the elite service academy. The academy filed the charges but did not identify the accused. Their names will officially be made public at a preliminary hearing known as an Article 32 that will probably take place later this summer, military law experts said. The proceedings will become a closely watched case study of how the U.S. military polices sexual violence within its ranks.
Within weeks of the release of a Pentagon study that said an estimated 26,000 U.S. service personnel reported “unwanted sexual contact” last year, a panoply of high-ranking generals appeared June 4 before a Senate panel to testify about the military’s handling of sexual assaults. Although many were openly critical of the military’s record, they successfully beat back an effort, spearheaded by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), to take away their authority over such cases. The three Naval Academy athletes, including one whose graduation in May was held up because he was under investigation, are accused of sexually assaulting a female midshipman during an April 2012 party at an off-campus house used by academy football players.
The purpose of an Article 32 hearing is to help the Naval Academy superintendent decide whether the case merits a general court-martial, which is the military equivalent of a criminal trial. The hearing is conducted by an officer chosen from outside the superintendent’s chain of command, who reviews the evidence and examines witnesses. The defense and prosecution also can cross-examine witnesses. The hearing officer then comes up with findings and passes recommendations to the superintendent. Under military law, the maximum penalty for rape is life in prison without the possibility of parole and a dishonorable discharge, said Lisa Windsor, a former judge advocate general who is in private practice in Washington. The maximum penalty for making false statements is five years in prison and a dishonorable discharge.
June 19
Three U.S. Naval Academy football players were charged Wednesday with raping a female midshipman and making false statements in the latest sexual assault scandal to roil the elite service academy. The academy filed the charges but did not identify the accused. Their names will officially be made public at a preliminary hearing known as an Article 32 that will probably take place later this summer, military law experts said. The proceedings will become a closely watched case study of how the U.S. military polices sexual violence within its ranks.
Within weeks of the release of a Pentagon study that said an estimated 26,000 U.S. service personnel reported “unwanted sexual contact” last year, a panoply of high-ranking generals appeared June 4 before a Senate panel to testify about the military’s handling of sexual assaults. Although many were openly critical of the military’s record, they successfully beat back an effort, spearheaded by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), to take away their authority over such cases. The three Naval Academy athletes, including one whose graduation in May was held up because he was under investigation, are accused of sexually assaulting a female midshipman during an April 2012 party at an off-campus house used by academy football players.
The purpose of an Article 32 hearing is to help the Naval Academy superintendent decide whether the case merits a general court-martial, which is the military equivalent of a criminal trial. The hearing is conducted by an officer chosen from outside the superintendent’s chain of command, who reviews the evidence and examines witnesses. The defense and prosecution also can cross-examine witnesses. The hearing officer then comes up with findings and passes recommendations to the superintendent. Under military law, the maximum penalty for rape is life in prison without the possibility of parole and a dishonorable discharge, said Lisa Windsor, a former judge advocate general who is in private practice in Washington. The maximum penalty for making false statements is five years in prison and a dishonorable discharge.
As I understand it, the alleged rape victim was reprimanded for an alcohol violation. Annapolis has what is called an 'Honor Concept'. Unlike the other service academy honor codes, the Honor Concept allows a midshipman to confront someone committing an honor violation without formally reporting it. At the other academies, failure to formally report an honor violation is construed as tolerating it which is itself a violation of the code. Due to the potential for conflict of interest and the realities of career advancement, I also question the military wisdom of allowing a commanding officer to adjudicate complaints of sexual impropriety/assault.
Notes: Honor Concept - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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