Latest news with #militaryjustice
Zawya
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Zawya
The South Sudan People's Defense Forces (SSPDF) General Court Martial in Western Bahr el Ghazal concludes
A General Court Martial, supported by the South Sudan People's Defense Forces, concluded in Wau, Western Bahr el Ghazal, on 5 July. It was preceded by two investigation missions to Wau and Jur River counties where 34 pending cases were reviewed. Subsequently, the military court adjudicated 20 criminal cases, convicting nine members of the SSPDF, stripping them of their ranks and dismissing them from military service. Notably, the General Court Martial delivered verdicts on two cases related to sexual and gender-based violence, resulting in convictions of seven and 10 years, respectively. Additionally, a conflict related sexual violence case involving multiple assailants and an underage victim was adjudicated, a first of its kind for such military court martials in South Sudan. The highest-ranking member of the SSPDF convicted was a Lieutenant Colonel, for the loss of a weapon. Two civilians in detention were released from military custody since they do not fall within the jurisdiction of a military court, while another civilian on trial for killing two SSPDF soldiers was sentenced to two years imprisonment and ordered to pay 62 heads of cattle or a monetary equivalent as blood compensation to the victims' families. The Court also heard six cases involving conflict related crimes committed during clashes in February 2025 in Kwajiena village, Jur River county. A lack of identification of assailants by victims, despite strong testimonies, did not lead to prosecutorial action in this regard. However, the hearing resulted in a directive to the state government to award financial compensation to all victims in accordance with South Sudan's civil procedure code. The General Court Martial team included two female judge-advocates to ensure that both female and male victims and witnesses were supported during the process. All victims also had access to two civilian victims' counsel, who provided free legal advice and actively participated in the proceedings to protect victim rights and help them navigate the justice process. This military court was followed by a civil-military dialogue in Wau with a focus on joint efforts to combat sexual violence. The aim was to strengthen trust between uniformed personnel and communities, as well as obtain real time feedback on the impact of such military justice interventions on host populations. The Wau General Court Martial was funded by the generous support of the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Juba. In particular, it builds on the work of similar military proceedings that took place in Wau in 2022, which resulted in convictions of eight members of the SSPDF for murder. The convicted soldiers were stripped of their ranks and dismissed from the SSPDF. As part of its ongoing efforts to strengthen justice mechanisms and rule of law processes, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) also provided funding for victims and witnesses to receive psychosocial support before, during, and after trial. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
Daily Mail
29-06-2025
- Daily Mail
British Army soldier who sexually assaulted a lesbian colleague while she was asleep has been jailed for seven years
A British Army soldier has been jailed for seven years after he sexually assaulted a lesbian colleague. Corporal Luke Edwards groped the woman while she was asleep - despite her telling him she was gay. His victim described the assault - which took place while they were deployed abroad - as a 'harrowing, violating experience'. The 26-year-old has now been jailed for seven years after being found guilty of two counts of sexual assault by penetration at Bulford Military Court, Wiltshire. The court martial heard Cpl Edwards, of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, had only recently been promoted to the rank of Corporal when the incident took place following an evening of drinking. Lieutenant Colonel Graham Coombes, prosecuting, told the court: 'After an evening of socialising, [the victim] was told by Cpl Edwards that he was locked out of his room and it was agreed that he would stay in her room. '[The victim] told Cpl Edwards 'Well I am gay and you have a girlfriend so nothing is going to happen'. 'The pair kissed and then Cpl Edwards tried putting his hand down her pants and she pulled his hand away. '[The victim] said she removed his hand straight away and made it clear to him that she did not want that to happen. She then went to sleep.' Lt Col Coombes said that as she slept Cpl Edwards assaulted her. He then said: 'As [the victim] was a lesbian and did not have sex with men, she was not sure what was happening. 'She did not respond to him and was still half asleep and was confused about what was going on. 'She then froze and did not know what to do. She remained in a state of shock. 'She then left the room and went to see a friend and told her that she had been sexually assaulted.' A statement read out on behalf of the victim said: 'I was subjected to the most harrowing, violating experience when [Cpl Edwards] sexually assaulted me. 'The isolation gave me plenty of time to ruminate. I felt ashamed and hated myself for a long time. 'This impacted how I saw myself and destroyed my self-confidence, finding it impossible to imagine how I could ever trust anyone enough to be in an intimate sexual relationship. 'For a while my general health declined, I couldn't sleep as I constantly had nightmares and flashbacks when I did. It stole from me a sense of peace, security and self-worth. 'The defendant was supposed to be my colleague and completely betrayed my trust. 'He chose to sexually assault me and instead of showing remorse and admitting what he did, he not only denied these offences but maintained that I instigated sexual contact between us. 'His lack of remorse and integrity had caused a further 18 months of unnecessary, prolonged distress.' James Hay, defending, said: 'The victim accepts that she invited him into her room and into her bed. They also shared a consensual kiss. 'This appears to be a blip in a previously unblemished record. Cpl Edwards will finish his career in the Army today.' Judge Advocate General Alan Large said: 'In this kind of situation dismissal from the armed forces is inevitable. 'It is agreed that you could come into her bed but she made it clear that no further activity was to take place. You were only able to do it because she was asleep. 'Your actions show the highly damaging affects of sexual offences. 'Service personnel have to have a certain bond of trust to effectively serve and sexual offending undermines this bond. 'This type of case is very serious and needs to be dealt with accordingly.' As well as being jailed, Cpl Edwards was dismissed from the Army.
The Independent
25-06-2025
- The Independent
Japan jails US marine for seven years for sexual assault in Okinawa
A US marine has been sentenced to seven years in prison for sexually assaulting a woman during his deployment in Japan 's Okinawa. Lance Corporal Jamel Clayton, 22, attacked and choked the woman from behind and tried to have sex with her, the Naha district court in Okinawa said on Tuesday. The woman, in her 20s, had reported the assault to the local police as well as a friend shortly after it took place in May last year. The US stations about 54,000 troops in Japan and more than half of them are deployed in the Okinawa archipelago, which also hosts 70 per cent of the American military bases in the Asian country. Presiding judge Kazuhiko Obata said the soldier's behaviour was 'so dangerous that it could have threatened her life and was highly malicious'. The court noted that blood spots found in the woman's eyes after the assault matched a forensic scientist's findings that such an injury could only be caused by compressing the neck continuously for one to two minutes. Her injuries took two weeks to heal. The prosecutors had sought 10 years of jail for the accused, Stars and Stripes, an outlet covering US military news, reported. The marine had denied the charges and his defence pointed to the woman's 'intoxication' and inconsistencies in her testimony during a trial earlier this month. However, the presiding judge ruled the victim's evidence was trustworthy as she had reported the incident to police immediately and sent a message to her friend detailing the incident which matched her testimony. The court said Clayton had assaulted the woman for sexual purposes, The Japan Times reported. "The emotional pain she felt, including fear, was tremendous," the presiding judge said, according to the newspaper. The judge asked Clayton to deeply repent his action in prison and spend a quiet life after getting out. The US relinquished control of Okinawa and returned the prefecture to Japanese ownership in 1972 but retained a heavy military presence. It currently has an estimated 30,000 soldiers stationed in Okinawa. Last year, Okinawa residents and the island's governor, Denny Tamaki, said they had long complained about accidents and crime related to the foreign military bases as they expressed anger over a lack of disclosure. In June last year, Japan's government protested to the American embassy over at least two sexual assault cases involving US servicemembers on Okinawa. One, it later turned out, was the case involving Clayton. In the other, an airman was accused of assaulting a 16-year-old girl in December. In 1995, the rape of a 12-year-old by three US servicemembers sparked massive protests against the American military presence on Okinawa.
Washington Post
23-06-2025
- Washington Post
Army Ranger convicted of rape, multiple sex assault charges
An Army Ranger who was arrested after a two-year investigation sparked by a Facebook group of women who said he sexually assaulted them was convicted Monday of two rape charges and more than a dozen other assault counts by a military jury, and will face sentencing Tuesday by a judge who could impose up to life in prison without parole. Maj. Jonathan Batt, 40, listened to 15 women testify against him during his three-week trial at Fort Meade in Maryland, then took the witness stand and provided detailed explanations for why, in his view, all the sexual encounters were consensual. 'I am not a rapist,' Batt told the jury of three colonels and five lieutenant colonels, who heard closing arguments June 16, then deliberated for three days in the week since. The jury of six men and two women convicted Batt of 20 charges involving eight women, and acquitted him of 18 counts involving seven women. Each rape charge carries a maximum sentence of life without parole, and each sexual assault count has a 30-year maximum term. The jury foreman declined to comment after the verdict. Batt chose to have military Judge Adam S. Kazin sentence him rather than the jury. The judge will hear testimony Tuesday morning before imposing sentence. 'There's a mix of emotions,' said Ryan Guilds, a lawyer representing nine of the women who testified. 'Disappointment for those who didn't get the justice they deserved, validation for many of them, that they were believed. … Though today was a good day, it doesn't change the incredible amount of harm suffered by these victims.' The total number of charges Batt faced was steadily reduced after he was initially arrested last October on 77 counts, including 14 rape and 16 aggravated assault charges. Prosecutors from the Army's Office of Special Trial Counsel said five of the initial 20 accusers withdrew from the case, and a number of other charges were dismissed or combined with other counts. In the end, the jury considered six rape charges, two aggravated assault by strangulation charges, 10 sexual assault and 16 assault and battery charges among 38 total counts. Batt, a West Point graduate who then entered Ranger School, rose to major and was in line for a promotion to lieutenant colonel before his arrest. He had been assigned to an artificial intelligence division of the Army in Arlington, Virginia, where he also lived. He kept a boat on the Potomac, the 'Batt Boat,' on which some of the incidents originated. He has a young daughter and testified he got married last month. Prosecutors said Batt met the women through online dating apps, through friends or through work. All of the women agreed to dates, but many said they did not agree to sex, particularly on the first date. From 2020 to 2023, 'Major Batt preyed upon and attacked 15 different women when they were vulnerable, isolated and defenseless,' Army Lt. Col. Gregory A. Vetere said in his closing argument. He cited the testimony of a woman who had fended off one physical advance by Batt, told him she wasn't interested in sex, then in a later encounter was forced to have sex at night on the Potomac River while they were on a Jet Ski. Prosecutors also said Batt strangled three women into unconsciousness during sex, without their consent. 'They felt the life force being driven out of them,' Vetere said. 'It is clear that the accused, in their testimony, was having sex with their unconscious bodies. That is rape, for which consent is not even a defense. An unconscious person cannot consent.' Other women said they were tied with ropes against their will or forced to have sex after they said no. Two lawyers and an Army soldier were among the 15 women who testified against Batt. Some of the women met after one of Batt's girlfriends posted on the Facebook group, 'Are We Dating the Same Guy?' Batt's lawyer, Nathan Freeburg, said the subsequent discussions among the women constituted 'witness contamination,' in which witnesses are exposed to prejudicial information before they testify. Freeburg noted in his closing argument that Batt testified for nearly an entire day. 'He looked you in the eye and told you the truth. We've done all an innocent person can do. We've shouted from the rooftops, he is innocent.' Freeburg pointed out that many of the women had subsequent encounters with Batt after claiming he sexually assaulted them. 'I always have fun with you guys,' one woman texted Batt after engaging in a video-recorded threesome, Freeburg reminded the jury. The video itself was shown to the jury, though prosecutors claimed it was edited by Batt to remove the criminal element of the encounter. Another woman sent more than 100 messages to Batt after she was allegedly attacked. 'That's not someone who got assaulted,' Freeburg told the jury. 'None of this makes sense.' Batt maintained that nearly all of his actions were consensual and not unusual. 'There's always a conversation about what the other party wants,' he told the jury. Prosecutors summoned an expert on how victims of violence respond to their attackers. She testified that many victims of interpersonal violence often maintain ties with their assailants. The jury was given instructions on multiple counts that evidence of sexual interactions with Batt 'should be considered as to whether she [the accuser] consented to the charged act.' The women in Batt's trial gave varying explanations of why they continued to see Batt after he allegedly assaulted them. One of them, a lawyer, said she was shocked when Batt had sex with her after she specifically told him no, a warning Batt admitted to on the stand, and more shocked when he placed his hands around her neck, nearly rendering her unconscious. But she said she discussed the choking with him, and returned for a second encounter. She testified that the strangling lasted longer the second time, but still she returned for a third time, with no strangling, before ending the relationship. 'Just trying to give him the benefit of the doubt,' the woman testified. 'He seemed like a nice guy.' The jury acquitted Batt of sexual assault but convicted him of aggravated assault by strangulation in the counts related to the woman. The woman who first contacted police, in the summer of 2021, told a story even Freeburg acknowledged was 'horrific,' of being partially bound, strangled and raped after recently undergoing surgery as part of her transgender conversion. She said she had not told Batt that she was transgender. But after undergoing a sexual assault exam at Inova Fairfax Medical Campus, meeting with a detective and starting therapy, she told police she didn't want to prosecute Batt. She then saw him a second time and agreed to be bound again. She said she met with him to hear him apologize in person for their first encounter. A year later, when the woman saw the Facebook group, she returned to the Alexandria police and said she wanted to prosecute. She had spoken to others who had posted in the group, some of whom then also cooperated with police and testified at the trial. The investigation restarted in August 2022 and was later joined by the Army Criminal Investigation Division, culminating in Batt's arrest. Batt was convicted of rape and assault and battery for his first interaction with the woman, and also rape of a second woman. The jury acquitted Batt of four rape counts involving other women but convicted him of a lesser charge of assault in each case. Though Freeburg claimed that the women's interactions before trial constituted contamination, prosecutor Capt. Stephanie Ryder said eight of the 15 women who testified had never seen the Facebook group. Ryder said three of the women testified that Batt had strangled them into unconsciousness. Six women were bitten, struck or slapped by Batt, Ryder said. 'These women have done everything they can to stand up for themselves,' Ryder told the jury. 'Major Batt is a sadist and he is sexually obsessed. He took whatever he wanted whenever he wanted.' 'Navigating the criminal justice system can be extremely daunting,' said Adrian R. Perry, director of victim services for Attorney General Jason Miyares (R) of Virginia, where many of the victims reside, 'and not having victim advocacy support often amplifies the fears and anxieties victims experience after reporting what happened to them.'
The Independent
11-06-2025
- The Independent
A Navy sailor who dreamed of being able to cook for the president was found dead in the woods. A fellow servicemember is now in custody
A 21-year-old Virginia Navy sailor who vanished last month has been found dead in a wooded area, military officials say. Navy Seaman Angelina Petra Resendiz, known to her friends and family as "Angie," was last seen on the morning of May 29 at her barracks at the Miller Hall Naval Station in Norfolk, Virginia. The Norfolk Medical Examiner confirmed late Tuesday that her body had been found in a wooded area in Norfolk, Virginia. One unidentified Navy sailor is being held in 'pretrial confinement' in connection with her death, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service said. The suspect's charges are pending under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Resendiz, a Texas native, was a culinary specialist assigned to the U.S.S. James E Williams. Her mother, Esmeralda Castle, told ABC News during the search for her daughter that Resendiz 'does not miss work. Sick, snow, feeling down, she shows up.' Castle said her daughter's decision to enlist in the military 'was something that called her,' adding that her daughter held culinary dreams, hoping 'that one day she might be able to cook for the president and other world leaders.' 'There are no answers for me. I just want my kid,' she told ABC News the week before her daughter was found. A GoFundMe page paid tribute to the young U.S. Navy sailor and said her mother was determined to 'protest for the reform' of how the U.S military responds to cases of missing women. 'Since her disappearance, the United States Navy has been quiet and ambiguous about searching for Angie,' the page said. 'With all of the technology at the Navy's disposal, there is no reason for a sailor to go missing or stay missing. The Naval base is in a wooded area, and NCIS has refused to tell Angie's mother anything about the search.' Over $9,000 was raised to support the search efforts. The NCIS said they 'had worked tirelessly' in tandem with multiple law enforcement agencies to pursue all leads since learning of Seaman Resendiz's disappearance.' 'NCIS remains committed to uncovering the facts surrounding the tragic death of Seaman Resendiz to ensure accountability and justice.' No further information was available.
