Charges Brought Against The Officers
Captain Derrick Robertson and Sergeants Delmar Simpson and Nathanael Beech were accused of participating in the army's biggest sex abuse scandal on record. Robertson and Simpson faced rape charges and Beech was charged with adultery.
Army Secretary Togo West accused those charged of abusing their power, and ordered all soldiers to undergo sexual harassment training so they could learn the army's "zero tolerance" policy towards sexual harassment.
The men accused felt that statements made by West and other officials within the army were prejudging the case and would result in an unfair trial. Robertson's attorney, Jerome Murphy, asked the judge, Military Judge Linda Webster, to enact a gag order on West and others, but she deferred judgment. However, she did order prospective jurors not to follow media coverage of the case to avoid interference with their judgment.
Others charged included Staff Sergeants Loren Taylor and Anthony Fore, Sergeant George Blackley, a captain, two other sergeants, and four other non-commissioned officers.
Read more about this topic: Aberdeen Scandal
Famous quotes containing the words charges, brought and/or officers:
“I have never injured anybody with a mordant poem; my
verse contains charges against nobody. Ingenuous, I have
shunned wit steeped in venom—not a letter of mine is dipped
in poisonous jest.”
—Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso)
“Rhodora! if the sages ask thee why
This charm is wasted on the earth and sky,
Tell them, dear, that if eyes were made for seeing,
Then Beauty is its own excuse for being:
Why thou wert there, O rival of the rose!
I never thought to ask, I never knew:
But, in my simple ignorance, suppose
The self-same Power that brought me there brought you.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“No officer should be required or permitted to take part in the management of political organizations, caucuses, conventions, or election campaigns. Their right to vote and to express their views on public questions, either orally or through the press, is not denied, provided it does not interfere with the discharge of their official duties. No assessment for political purposes on officers or subordinates should be allowed.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)