Mid charged with sexual assault

Yes, this has been brewing quietly over the last year. Sadly, there is nowhere on the application to check a box that someone does this. It seems the govt has a good case with creditable witness/victim statements. I am so sorry for those this happened to. I am glad they spoke up, were listened to, and action taken.

Over the years, our sponsor mids have reported drunk mids coming back to the Hall and going to their old rooms in confusion, even to the point of climbing back into their old beds. Mids usually solve these in their own ways. One of our mids related an upperclass had done this three Saturday nights in a row. The roommates escorted him into the shower in their room, fully clothed, and turned on the cold water. They then went and got his roommates to rescue him.

This, though, is full-on sexual assault. The man is a predator and a criminal, though I suppose I should wait for the court-martial results and presume innocence.

The victims have no doubt been getting counseling and support. I hope they have decided to fight through this and stay on. From something that happened to me in college, I still startle badly if someone comes up behind me and mentally I had no awareness of anyone there.

You would think a Service Academy would be immune to this, but like college campuses everywhere, there are bad apples who sailed through the Admissions process.
 
Capt MJ said:
It’s USNA’s turn to be back in the scandal spotlight. These incidents at a civilian college would not be likely to make the national news cycle
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I suppose it gets national coverage as the service academies are national institutions, unlike any others in the country. I cringe every time I see something like this though. The same thing happens with missing cadets, training accidents, etc. But then I know I'm singing to the choir.
 
Honestly I have the same feeling whenever I read about terrible events at my eldest daughter's school too. It's not national news like at the SAs, but it is covered regionally and that same sinking feeling washes in each time. It's part of being invested in an institution, where the good comes with the bad and every weekend brings the opportunity for thousands of 18 to 20-somethings to display their varying levels of brain development and decision-making prowess.
 
What makes this different than the difficult one said-the other said, alcohol-infused, muddy, no other witness cases is the accused apparently planned the attacks, chose rooms and times, was equipped to get past a locked door, and knew how to do stuff without waking people. Cold, calculated, perpetration of rape.
 
Capt MJ said:
What makes this different than the difficult one said-the other said, alcohol-infused, muddy, no other witness cases is the accused apparently planned the attacks, chose rooms and times, was equipped to get past a locked door, and knew how to do stuff without waking people. Cold, calculated, perpetration of rape.
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Which begs the question of his community activities prior to the Academy.
 
Ah. That would be interesting. When I was a BattO, doors were not allowed to be locked except when it was a leave period or the summer break when everyone moved out. Then, as theft rose (yes, mid on mid, same ones who wrote the glowing essays) and other incidents occurred, rules were revised.

I hoping a current or recent midshipman can pop up and tell us what the door-locking guidance is now and what kind of lock it is. I suspect many mids don’t lock their door at night, just close it.
 
Military court cases can drag out the same as with civilian criminal cases with investigations, evidence collection, witness statements, motions, procedural hearings. Similar to the civilian grand jury proceeding, an Article 32 hearing is convened to determine if there is sufficient evidence to go to trial. The accused has rights to consult counsel, etc., and various delays can occur. USNA did administratively assign the mid elsewhere. Maybe one incident sparked others to come forward.
 
At least this one seems more cut and dry. What I really hate are the "he said, she said/he said, he said/she said, she said" cases where officers really have to sort through the testimonies and hope they make the correct decision.
 
Capt MJ said:
I suspect many mids don’t lock their door at night, just close it.
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DD’s club team recently played USAFA. They hosted opposing players in Mother B, each cadet staying with a mid. DD had to leave early morning while cadet was still sleeping, so left multiple reminders that cadet was to leave room door open upon departure. Otherwise DD and her roomies would have been fried. Cadet dutifully complied.
 
Capt MJ said:
Ah. That would be interesting. When I was a BattO, doors were not allowed to be locked except when it was a leave period or the summer break when everyone moved out. Then, as theft rose (yes, mid on mid, same ones who wrote the glowing essays) and other incidents occurred, rules were revised.

I hoping a current or recent midshipman can pop up and tell us what the door-locking guidance is now and what kind of lock it is. I suspect many mids don’t lock their door at night, just close it.
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Doors can be locked from taps to reveille provided all assigned occupants are present. I don't know how many mids lock them. I certainly do.
 
My DS said that they were in the practice of locking their door (at night) during Air Force Week with a towel gasket under the door, and I expect that will continue during Army week. :biggrin:
 
As a father of 3 daughters and 2 sons, (with 3 of the 5 being in the Coast Guard), these type of stories make my butt cheeks pucker. The story's I've heard of the behavior of both men and women are shocking, enlisted and commissioned. I've asked my CGA graduate to editorialize, and all he will say is that there are bad kids in the Academy's. My daughter, who is enlisted, even tells me more bizarre stories, and I can only imagine the ones she can't repeat to her father.

But there is an interesting closing statement to this news article, a link to the Midshipman Michael Wallace incident. Mid Wallace was accused of a similar crime, including sexual assault, causing bodily harm during a nonconsensual act, and obstruction of justice. Mid Wallace was found not guilty earlier this year on all charges. Its very hard for me to reconcile all these charges in the Wallace case as being a misunderstandings. I'd love to read the testimony of what transpired, but I guess we will never know. I'm going to assume everyone gets a fair treatment at least in the court where it counts.
 
NJDadofDSUSMA2024Hopeful said:
@LurkingQuietly when your son says there are bad kids at the academies, did he mean, “like there are everywhere in society”? Or disproportionately more at the academies?
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I would say less at any SA ( compared to civilian schools) as most of them have gone character evaluation on top of all other evaluations. Not to say the needed security clearance after receiving the appointment. That’s just my understanding.

I have not kids at any SA right now, dad of a prospective candidate class of 2025.
 
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