JAG accused of sex with corporal in Iraq; could face court-martial

[USMCRET6391]

By John Hoellwarth
Times staff writer

A staff judge advocate in Iraq has been recommended for court-martial following a six-week investigation into sexual misconduct at Headquarters and Service Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, at Camp Taqaddum, Iraq.

The case, one of several alleged in an anonymous e-mail dubbed “Cpl. Promiscuous” and sent to all combat service support personnel in Iraq on Oct. 14, was confirmed in an ensuing command investigation report dated Nov. 7 and obtained by Marine Corps Times.

The command confirmed the report but would not comment on details. Marine Corps Times is withholding the name of the officer pending a decision by the command to press charges and refer him to court-martial.

The officer, who is single, is alleged to have engaged in a six-month relationship with the corporal, who initially went to see him for help in obtaining a divorce, according to the investigation report by Maj. Derrick Young.

The report says the two used the officer’s workspace for late-night sexual encounters and that he warned her not to cooperate with investigators after the anonymous e-mail was sent.

Young recommends in the report that the captain face a general court-martial on charges of adultery, fraternization, sodomy, obstruction of justice, communicating a threat, conduct unbecoming an officer and failure to obey orders published in Battalion Policy Letter 3-05, which bars the unit’s personnel from “sexual contact, conduct, or sexually arousing or suggestive behavior.”

He also recommended that a copy of the investigation be forwarded to whichever states that allow the officer to practice law. Young reported that the captain allegedly abused the attorney-client relationship with the corporal.

The corporal is alleged in the report to have been sexually involved during the same time frame with an Army second lieutenant, a Marine staff sergeant and a sergeant, all of whom were unmarried. The report recommended she be punished in accordance with five counts of failure to follow a lawful order and one count of adultery. Sources report that she has received nonjudicial punishment, but the MLG declined to “discuss personal administrative action taken by the command.”

According to Young’s report, the two met in March when the corporal sought the SJA’s legal advice regarding her divorce and custody of her child. Their affair lasted from April until September, the report says.

When the anonymous “Cpl. Promiscuous” e-mail was sent, Young wrote, the captain warned the corporal not to talk and said she would lose custody of her child if she did.

In its response to a query and follow-up questions, the command said the matter is ongoing and wouldn’t comment on punishments.

“The command has investigated the matter, will continue to investigate and will take action where appropriate,” 2nd MLG officials wrote in a Dec. 15 response to questions. “As this is an ongoing process, it would be inappropriate to discuss any further information. All proceedings are not complete.”

All told, Young recommended action against eight people, from general courts-martial to nonpunitive letters of caution. The harsher recommendations involved the captain, corporal, Army lieutenant and Marine staff sergeant. Other recommendations involved nonpunitive letters of caution for Marines who either refused to report ongoing sexual activity or were derelict in their duties for failing to be aware of it.

The command refused to provide the number of Marines punished since the allegations came to light, citing the Privacy Act, a tactic that raised a red flag with one military law expert.

“The Privacy Act protects individuals, but not statistics,” said Kathleen Duignan, executive director of the National Institute of Military Justice. “Just because an organization is embarrassed, doesn’t mean they can invoke the Privacy Act.”

Legal officials with 2nd MLG directed the command’s spokeswoman to say there has been no movement in the direction of a court-martial for the captain. No date has been set for a preliminary hearing to decide how to proceed with the captain’s case, said 2nd MLG spokeswoman Staff Sgt. Amy Contreras.

In the response approved by group chief of staff Col. Stephen Otto, officials wrote, “2MLG Marines and sailors are doing a tremendous job in Iraq. They constantly tackle all the logistical requirements of supplying the war fighter with the necessary equipment to win the war on terror. All Marine commanders take allegations of misconduct seriously and properly dispose of them per regulations and the facts and circumstances in each case.”

‘Cpl. Promiscuous’

At 8:08 a.m. Oct. 14, every combat service support Marine with an e-mail address in Iraq, including their commanding general, received a message from nc28542usmc@yahoo.com.

“This should be in The Globe or The Daily News here,” the anonymous e-mailer began, referring to Camp Lejeune’s base newspaper and the local Jacksonville, N.C., paper.

The corporal, it went on, “is a big hit and a favorite at Camp TQ, Iraq.”

The salacious e-mail accused the corporal of late-night trysts with the SJA, an adulterous affair with a staff sergeant and carrying on with a unit corpsman.

Corps officials said the investigation started later the same day.

In the Dec. 15 response to questions, officials said they have not discovered the identity of the e-mailer, but did confirm they contacted Yahoo! for help in the investigation.

When asked about Yahoo!’s support of the command investigation, company spokeswoman Mary Osako said she couldn’t comment on specific cases in accordance with Yahoo!’s privacy policies. She said Yahoo! responds to subpoenas, cooperates with law enforcement agencies and will act to stop an ongoing crime, but she said she was unaware whether the company considered the military a law enforcement agency or if Yahoo! considered UCMJ violations a crime.

Young’s report says that after the two met, they began exchanging e-mails, first on government e-mail, then switching over to private e-mail.

According to the investigation report, the captain, who was then a first lieutenant, told the corporal to call him by his first name in one of those e-mail exchanges, and as they progressed, the topics became more personal. The report says the captain told the corporal in one e-mail that she was “pretty” and that he wanted to hold her while listening to “Crash Into Me” by The Dave Matthews Band. In another, according to the report, he asked the corporal where people at the camp have sex. He recommended his office because it had a lock on the door, the report says, and told her to meet him there at 03:30 wearing PT gear and with her hair tucked into her shirt to avoid being recognized.

According to the report, the two had sex numerous times from April to September. But after the anonymous e-mail surfaced, the captain told the corporal if she told anyone of the relationship, she would lose custody of her son. He then began sending her daily e-mails telling her not to talk.

Marine Corps Times attempted to reach the corporal and the SJA but was unsuccessful. The corporal did not respond to an e-mail seeking comment, and forwarding it instead to her officer-in-charge, 1st Lt. Heather Brown, who responded angrily and described her Marine as “a young and confused lance corporal,” indicating a loss in rank since the “Cpl. Promiscuous” e-mail.

[Vulture6]

A court martial is appropriate - he knows better.

[USMCRET6391]

it certainly sounds like she didnt

[USMC Chuter]

Dime a dozen, unfortunately.

[Nacht]

Like in business, the saying "Don't stick your pen in the company inkwell." Is always the best policy.