Category: crime & punishment

USFK has posted the blotter report for the month of May.  It was a busy month for the USFK legal system.  You can read the whole report below the fold:

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The translation issues for US servicemembers facing trial in Korean courts continue:

A U.S. soldier has admitted that he attempted to rape an off-duty South Korean policewoman last month, according to his defense team.

Sgt. Anthony Q. Basel initially denied attacking the woman in an off-post bathroom, but later confessed to the April 5 incident, defense officials said outside the courtroom Friday following their first court appearance in the case.

Basel, answering a prosecutor’s questions through a translator, admitted to being in the bathroom the night of the attack.

Fellow soldier Pfc. Marc C. Feldman, also charged with attempted rape, told the prosecutor he wasn’t in the bathroom.

Before questions could continue, Basel’s defense attorney, Jin Hyo-guen, complained about the quality of the translation and requested a temporary halt to the trial. The prosecutor also asked for more time to investigate what he called inconsistent statements from the defendants.

This is a continuing problem in Korean Courts, that one would thnk would be easy to fix.  As we have seen in the past fair trials for US soldiers are not what the Korean court system is about.  I’m not saying these two are innocent but they do deserve at least adequate translations of the court proceedings.  I do have to say that this excuse is being used an awful lot now a days I have noticed:

The 23-year-old, who lost five friends in Iraq and escaped a bomb that exploded in front of his vehicle, was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after returning from Iraq, Hayes said. Basel dropped out of a treatment program because he feared it would harm his chances of being promoted, Hayes said.

First of all a lot of people have served in Iraq and Afghanistan and do not go around committing crimes.  PTSD is real issue but it is being used as a blanket excuse way to often.  The US military has plenty of mental health services for those with PTSD.  As far as alcohol treatment he must have been a voluntary referal into ASAP (Army Substance Abuse Program) and than completed the Track 1 phase of it.  His commander could have command referred him for further treatment.  The excuse that he quit treatment out of fear of not being promoted is inaccurrate.  The ASAP counselors give commanders updates on a soldiers progress in the program and recommend further treatment for the soldier or not.  His commander and First Sergeant could have command referred him for further treatment if they felt it was necessary based on the advice of the ASAP folks as well as their own personal opinion of the soldier.  I know the ASAP program in 2ID real well and they are very vigorous about ensuring soldiers make all the meetings and if they don’t they call the commanders.  Upon completion of Track 1 the counselor will do outbriefs on the soldiers progress with the commander and First Sergeant.

Obviously his commander felt he didn’t need further treatment and did not keep him in the program.  Promotions has nothing to do with it and sounds more like grasping for straws. 

20 years old + private rank + out past curfew + only a week left in country = trouble:

A 2nd Infantry Division soldier was questioned by police who suspect he was involved in an early-morning fire Saturday at an off-post beauty shop near Camp Hovey in Dongducheon.

Pvt. Dustin T. Roper, 20, of 2nd Battalion, 9th Infantry’s headquarters company, was found in an alley after firefighters responded to a fire at the Royal beauty shop at 3:55 a.m. Saturday.

Roper remained silent during questioning, a Yangju police spokesman said.

The statistical category that causes the most trouble in USFK are 18-22 year olds, within the rank of E1-E4, and either under 30 days in country or under 30 days left to leave.  The guys under 30 days get in trouble because they come to Korea and think they can drink up storm and raise hell in the ville.  The longer they are in Korea and see people getting brought up on charges for misconduct tends to moderate their behavior.  Additionally the ville just gets old and soldiers start doing other things besides going to the ville.   

Then you have the guys that under 30 days that often lose leader supervision because they are released during the day to clear their unit and installation.  These are the guys you really have to watch.  Often these guys want to go out and raise hell one last time before they leave.  Additionally if this soldier spent a year in Korea and is only a private that leads me to believe he probably got busted in rank while in Korea. 

This guy does appear to be a classic example of a high risk soldier that are the main causes off post incidents if he in fact started the fire. 

Seriously is anyone surprised by this?:

A police investigation has revealed that many winners of the Grand Art Exhibition of Korea, the country’s largest art contest, were chosen through bribery and corruption.

The shocking investigation involves 36 officials with the Korea Fine Arts Association (KFA), the country’s leading arts organization, 20 art professor judges, and other influential organizations and individuals.

Police on Wednesday asked for arrest warrants for nine people including Mr. Ha, the former director general of the KFA. Ha is accused of awarding prizes at the 25th Grand Art in 2006 in return for bribes from applicants and acquaintances. Forty-nine others including judges, KFA officials, and artists were booked without detention.

From the Stars & Stripes:

A 2nd Infantry Division soldier was sentenced Wednesday to two years in prison for downloading child pornography and soliciting sex via chat room exchanges with a police officer posing as a 14-year-old.

Spc. Wesley S. Edmond of the 2nd Battalion, 9th Infantry’s headquarters company, also received a bad-conduct discharge and a rank reduction to E-1.

Sometime between September and October 2006, Edmond downloaded and saved pictures of underage teens having sex, according to testimony.

He also entered the “Virtual Shagging” room at a popular online chat site and conversed with what he thought was a girl who eventually introduced herself as a 14-year-old. The “girl” was actually a female police lieutenant acting in a sting operation to catch sexual predators.

Another soldier going to jail for something stupid. This guy is 31 years old and should know better and even has a young daughter himself.  What are people like this thinking?

This story should sound familiar:

Military Judge Col. Gregory Gross sentenced Kevin Sowers to 18 months in prison, forfeiture of all pay and a rank reduction to E-1, with credit for 141 days served in pretrial confinement.

A rape charge against Sowers, who is attached to the 2nd Infantry Division’s 1st Battalion, 15th Field Artillery, Bravo Battery, was dropped prior to Wednesday’s trial after the alleged victim declined to testify.

Sowers says he stole from two soldiers’ bank accounts and defied his commander’s orders after falling for a bargirl working in “The Ville” outside Casey’s main gate in Dongducheon. The woman became Sowers’ fiancee.

It should sound familiar because this scenario has been playing out for years and making some headlines recently. I call these guys juicy addicts because these girls in the club are like drugs to some people. These soldiers act just like drug addicts the way they are caught stealing other people’s property and commiting crimes to finance their juicy habit. Read the whole thing and see how as always immediate families that really suffer from these things.

The Camp Casey First Sergeant that was charged with rape has been convicted of a lesser charge and sentenced:

Sgt. 1st Class Carlos Reynolds remained steadfast in his innocence, even as a court-martial jury Friday sentenced him to 2½ years in prison for indecently assaulting two female soldiers.

Reynolds, formerly acting first sergeant for the 2nd Infantry Division’s 302nd Brigade Support Battalion, Foxtrot Company, also received a bad-conduct discharge and rank reduction to E-1.

The NCO in question had some heated words for the court:

Reynolds said he “acknowledged and respected the findings” of the eight jurors, then apologized for their having to be in court.

But he did not apologize for the assaults and two other counts for which he was convicted: filing a false official statement and obstructing justice. Reynolds faced up to 20 years prison for the four offenses.

Prosecutor Capt. Marlin Paschal asked Reynolds at the sentencing hearing if he had thought of the crime’s effect on the family of one of the victims.

“Why should I do that, sir?” Reynolds responded, adding that the victim hadn’t considered him or his family.

Reynolds, 40, has a wife and three children, age 20, 15 and 11, living in Tennessee.

As you can see when it comes to these cases there are victims all around that are effected. If the NCO didn’t do what he was convicted of he still put himself in a compromising position to be accused of sexual assault by not having any witnesses with him. If you are a senior NCO or officer especially a First Sergeant of Commander only go into soldiers’ rooms with a witness to avoid opening yourself up to accusations that may be untrue.

The court martial results for the month of April are posted on the USFK website. Looking at the results you can see where most of the current trend of off post incidents are coming from:

Court-Martial Result for April 2007
At a general court-martial on 28 April 2007, Private First Class Michael E. Glassman, HHS, 1/38th FA, 210th Fires Bde, 2ID, was convicted of disobeying an order from a commissioned officer, eight specifications of wrongfully pawning military property, seven specifications of larceny of military property, and two specifications of housebreaking. His adjudged sentence was reduction to E-1, confinement for four years, and a bad conduct discharge.

Results of ROK Criminal Prosecutions
In Seoul Central District Court on 4 April 2007, Master Sergeant Adrian S. Miles , 524th MI Bn, was convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol. His adjudged sentence was a 1.5 million Won fine.

In Daegu District Court on 5 April 2007, Sergeant First Class Jeffrey P. Nagy, CSCT #2, was found not guilty of involvement in a hit and run accident.

In Suwon District Court on 18 April 2007, Captain Derrick G. Draper, 3/2d Avn Bn, was convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol and vehicular hit and run. His adjudged sentence was 5 million Won fine.

In Seoul Central District Court on 27 April 2007, Sergeant Leon A. Eldridge, 3/2d Avn Bn, was convicted of aggravated assault. His adjudged sentence was a 3 million Won fine.

In Seoul Central District Court on 27 April 2007, Private Marcus D. Elliot, 2/2d Avn Bn, was convicted of aggravated assault. His adjudged sentence was a 3 million Won fine.

In Seoul Central District Court on 27 April 2007, Private First Class Melvin G. Abramson, 2/2d Avn Bn, was convicted of aggravated assault. His adjudged sentence was a 3 million Won fine.

The court martial incident is referring to the Stealing for Juicy Girl case that happened at Camp Casey. Now notice all the cases tried in the ROK courts are all from non-Area 1 units in Yongsan, Taegu, Camp Humphreys, and K-16. On top of these incidents non-Area 1 personnel were also responsible for the Kunsan Taxi Cab Beat Down, along with the Taxi Cab Knifing in Waegwan. Â

Area 1’s only off post incident was the Policewoman Sexual Assault which made a lot of headlines at the time. However, I think my point is made that off post incidents in USFK is something that is well dispersed and not just an Area 1 problem; it is just when an Area 1 incident happens it is always the most memorable. Â

From the Joong Ang Ilbo:

Two American soldiers were arrested yesterday on charges of beating and attempting to rape a female police officer in downtown Seoul last month, prosecutors said. The soldiers, identified only as a 23-year-old sergeant and a 21-year-old private first class from a U.S. base north of Seoul, are accused of attempting to sexually assault a plainclothes officer in an office bathroom in Seoul on April 5.

The suspects were caught when a janitor heard a scream and alerted police, officials at the Seoul District Prosecutors’ Office said. Earlier on the day of the assault, the two men were interrogated at a nearby police station for the alleged sexual harassment of another local woman, police said. The soldiers were released after the woman told police she did not want to punish them. The sergeant confessed to the charges, but the private denied them, the officials said.

What I find weird about this case is that it has been over a month since the incident and the police are just now bringing charges against them? Usually the charges get filed against US soldiers much more quickly, especially in a high profile case like this. 

From the Stars and Stripes:

The trial of a sergeant first class accused of soliciting and raping a female soldier, sexually assaulting another and coercing a third to make a false statement entered its third day Friday.

Sgt. 1st Class Carlos L. Reynolds, acting first sergeant with the 2nd Infantry Division’s 302nd Brigade Support Battalion, pleaded not guilty to all charges. One charge of insubordination was dropped earlier this week. (…)

Prosecutors say Reynolds raped a private after three other junior enlisted soldiers left Spc. Renee Hoist’s barracks room on June 22.

Defense lawyers questioned whether penetration had occurred, citing statements the private made to investigators.

Prosecutors countered that her testimony met the legal standard of rape, which requires at least a slight penetration, they said. She screamed at Reynolds to express lack of consent, they added.

Sounds pretty grim right?  Well this is why it is important to presume innocence until proven guilty:

Kincaid said the private’s statements to investigators and defense lawyers were inconsistent, with differences about her clothing and whether she told her mother of the alleged rape.

The private’s former supervisor, Sgt. Shalika Worlds , rated the alleged victim’s trustworthiness as a two on a scale of one to 10.

“She’s a habitual liar, sir. She’s untrustworthy,” Worlds told Kincaid.

“I wouldn’t believe anything she told me unless I had actual proof,” former co-worker Sgt. 1st Class Jeffrey Murphy said.

Soon after the alleged rape, the private received Article 15 nonjudicial punishment for making false official statements and disrespecting a different sergeant, Foxtrot Company commander Capt. Donald Little testified.

It will be interesting to see how this trial turns out, but this just goes to show that rape cases are not always a cut and dry thing.  However, even if this NCO is found not guilty, from reading the whole article it does sound like this guy is definitely guilty of some bad judgment.  You never go into a female’s room without having a witness with you.  If you do that you are opening yourself up to not only accusations like this, but most commonly the rumor mill which can be just as destructive to a unit.