Aberdeen scandal

The Aberdeen Scandal was a military sexual assault scandal in 1996 at Aberdeen Proving Ground, a United States Army base in Maryland.

Ultimately, twelve drill instructors were charged with sex crimes; four were sentenced to prison, while eight others were discharged or received non-judicial punishment. Additionally, "letters of reprimand were issued to Aberdeen's commanding general and three other senior 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.

A separate and unrelated scandal took place in 1996 at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri; charges in that case were announced five days before the Aberdeen scandal became public, and the two cases were reported by the media in tandem. According to Army officials, 22 female soldiers "were involved in incidents" in which three men—Staff Sgt. Loren B. Taylor, Staff Sgt. Anthony S. Fore, and Sgt. George W. Blackley Jr.—were charged.

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Wikipedia