Legal Lynching at Coast Guard Academy of Black Texas Man.
Testimony concerning oral sex, virgins, a Black man from Texas, and his white friends sounds a lot like the Court-martial of Web Smith at the Coast Guard Academy on June 27, 2006, but it is not. That testimony was about the lynching of a Black man in Jasper, Texas on June 7, 1998. James Byrd's family sat grim-faced in a courtroom as Lawrence Russel Brewer told a stunning tale of how he, John William King and Shawn Allen Berry had cut the throat of James Byrd, then chained his ankles to a pickup truck, and then dragged him 3 miles down a paved road until his body was in pieces. James Byrd was deprived of his life and his liberty because he was Black. Brewer said later "I did it and I am no longer a virgin. It was a rush and I'm still licking my lips for more." He was licking his lips because he said he wanted more oral sex. This was a crime against humanity. It was unnecessary. John William King testified that he "needed to do something dramatic that would attract media attention".
This incident lead to an Emergency Resolution bt the NAACP. (The complete Resolution is printed below).
Could this be what the Court-martial of Web Smith is all about? Is it just to attract media attention? Was Admiral James Van Sice trying to send a message to U. S. Representative Christopher Shays and the Pentagon and the other 3 military academies that this is how the Coast Guard Academy handles sexual assaults? At the very moment that the court-martial of Web Smith is underway, Representative Shay is holding Congressional Hearings in Washington, DC where Coast Guard Rear Admiral Paul J. Higgins and others are giving testimony.
It is strangely ironic that in April 2006 Representative Shays hosted a briefing on Capitol Hill where a former Coast Guard Academy cadet, Caitlin Stopper, told of how her life became an "absolute hell" after she accused a fellow cadet of sexually assaulting her. Ms Stopper said that Academy officials tried to blame her for the alleged attack. Would they do that if the so-called attacker had been Black, like Web Smith?
Well, what happened to that cadet? Who was he? Was he white? Is Web Smith, a Black cadet, being required to pay for the sins of some other cadet who will go on to an illustrious career? Right now, Web Smith is waiting to see if after completing the 4 year course of study he will receive his BS degree, before he is unceremoniously drummed out of the service, and how much time, if any, he will have to serve at Fort Levenworth Federal Prison.
Another Black man goes to jail. And we thought that only drug dealers were being sent to jail decimating the next generation of Black males. Some statistics show that up to 75 percent of Black males between 16 and 35 are either in jail or have been in jail because of drug related offenses. Web Smith thought that he had beat the odds. He thought that he was home free. After all, he is one of the "best and the brightest" that the Black community has produced, and he was about to graduate from one of the finest small colleges in America. His parents, Cleon and Belinda Smith, had done all that they knew how to do to protect their son from a Black mother's worst nightmare in post- Civil War America. Now, he is looking at the possibility of jail time.
America’s “War on Drugs” has cost hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars over the past two decades, yet failed to deliver virtually any measurable or lasting results. A significant reason for this failure is that over the course of the 1990s the federal government began to target its efforts on small time urban drug dealers and marijuana users, rather than on potentially lethal drugs like methamphetamine and the hard-core criminals who deal and traffic in them. This strategy of targeting young Black drug pushers and marijuana users is clogging our courts and swelling the populations of our state prisons and local jails. That is where the young Black men are. They are not on college campuses. They are in jail.
Web Smith was on a college campus. He was about to graduate. Then a young white girl discovered six months after the fact that she really did not want to have sex that night, or to take nude photos, or to exchange intimate Email messages with him. So, because she thinks she has changed her mind, or can't remember who did what to whom on that fateful night long long ago, another Black man's dream is deferred. Oh, to have been in the crowded court room in New London, Connecticut and to hear this young virile Black cadet football player tell the jury, "I wanted to be an officer. I apologize that you have not seen that this week".
What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun, or fester like a sore; and then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over; Like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode???
That is what a few Black observers think. Let's see what some white spectators think. No cadets have been interviewed, but let's see what any of the the Coast Guard Band, and the Academy Parents Association think. It is hard to find an objective person without financial ties to the Academy to interview, but The Norwich Bulletin has come up with a preliminary survey. They have a positive verdict on the lynching of Web Smith.
Former Coast Guard members and others with ties to the Coast Guard Academy are praising the academy's handling of its first court-martial, saying the firm action will help the school's reputation rebound.
Many in the region with ties to the academy said the fact the school did not hide the allegations and followed through with a court martial will help its reputation rebound.
"The academy has excellent processes in place to deal with this," said John Maxham, vice president of development for the academy alumni association. "The most important things is it was handled in the proper fashion."
Judith Buttery, 50, of Oakdale and a former member of the Coast Guard Band, said the rape allegation is something other colleges and universities have dealt with for years.
"It happens so often in every other place," Buttery said. "It's just one of those things the Coast Guard will have to deal with. The Coast Guard Academy will weather this storm."
Chris Morello of Norwich, the Capt. Paul Foyt Chapter co-president of the Coast Guard Academy Parents Association, called the incident disappointing, but was glad the academy handled it well.
"It's disappointing for the best of the cadets that work as hard and are dedicated and disciplined to have a few put a black mark on the school," Morello said. "It's not good to judge anything based on one decision or challenge."
Region VI NAACP Emergency Resolution to Support Jasper, Texas
Whereas, an African American man, James Byrd, Jr., was brutally murdered by being kidnapped, beaten unconscious, spray painted in the face with black paint, tied to the back of a pick-up truck, pants dropped down to his ankles, dragged 2.5 miles over pavement through a rural black community in Jasper County called Huff Creek, leaving his skin, blood, arms, head, genitalia, and other parts of his body strewn along the highway, his remains were dumped in front of a black cemetery; and
Whereas, there have been numerous reported incidents of prisoners or former prisoners who were members of white supremacist organizations committing violent hate crimes against African- Americans; and
Whereas violent hate crimes have been committed against African-Americans or African-American organizations such as the NAACP in most every region of the nation including New York, Texas, Virginia, North Carolina, Illinois, Washington, California, Louisiana; and
Whereas, there are three suspects who have been arrested and charged with the murder of James Byrd, Jr., two of whom have apparent ties to white supremacist organizations in prison and since leaving prison, and tattoos of Black Men hanging from a tree with a duck in a klan uniform nearby,
Now Therefore Be It Resolved that the NAACP pledge to support fundraising efforts to revitalize the Lone Star Community Center in Jasper, Texas, and
Be It Further Resolved that the NAACP support efforts to rename the Lone Star Community Center the James Byrd, Jr. Community Center for Racial Healing, dedicated to promoting civil rights, social justice, education, cultural awareness and economic empowerment; and
Be It Further Resolved that the NAACP requests that the United States Attorney General appoint a racially and geographically diverse Task Force (including citizens) to investigate, monitor and take appropriate action against Hate Crimes committed by prisoners or former prisoners of penal institutions who have past or current allegiances to white supremacist organizations; and
Now Therefore Be It Resolved that the NAACP requests that the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights investigate fully whether there is a shared responsibility for the James Byrd, Jr. murder beyond the three suspects who have been charged criminally and take the necessary criminal or civil action against individuals or groups that aided, assisted or encouraged the persons who committed the crime to do so.
Labels: Cadet Webster Smith.
posted by ichbinalj at 3:36 PM
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Deliberations Start in Cadet's Rape Trial
Associated Press | June 27, 2006
NEW LONDON, Conn. - Jurors started deliberations Tuesday at the court-martial of a Coast Guard Academy cadet accused of raping his sometimes girlfriend and assaulting three other women at the school.
The case against 23-year-old Cadet Webster Smith of Houston is the first court-martial of a student in the academy's 130-year history. Smith has pleaded not guilty to rape, sodomy, extortion and assault charges that stem from allegations made by the four female cadets.
Smith testified that the sex between him and his on-again, off-again girlfriend was consensual on the night she says he raped her, and he said he did not believe she was drunk, as she testified.
He told the military jury Monday that three of the encounters described by his accusers were consensual and that another never happened.
In their closing argument Tuesday, prosecutors acknowledged inconsistencies in the testimony.
"You have to deal with totally versions of events that happened over the past 13 months," said Cmdr. Ronald Bald, the military prosecutor. But he said Smith's stories do not make sense and that the defense did not prove that his accusers concocted their stories in a conspiracy against him.
"The defense hasn't given you a sisterhood. They haven't given you a conspiracy. They haven't given you collusion," Bald said.
Navy Lt. Stuart Kirkby, Smith's military attorney, said it is the testimony from Smith's accusers and others that does not make sense. People would remember it, Kirkby said, if the sometimes-girlfriend, a 115-pound woman, drank three liters of wine and two beers as she said she did the night of the alleged rape.
"It's an event. It goes down in the annals of history. It's something that people remember," Kirkby said. "Everybody's lying, or she didn't drink that much."
The former girlfriend said she remembers nearly nothing about that night last June, and prosecutors say she couldn't have consented to sex.
Smith said the woman drank far less than she claimed. He also disputed a timeline of events provided by her best friend.
Smith testified that he and the woman had some drinks and went to a bar with friends. Smith and the woman remained in the car. Friends say that's because she got sick, but Smith said she gave him a look indicating she wanted them to be alone. Smith said they had sex in his car, where she was sober and alert.
Defense attorneys have said that he and the woman continued their sporadic relationship for months and had sex after that night. Smith said they had sex again the next morning and at a hotel the following evening. Both testified to having sex again the following semester.
The other accusers who testified are:
-A woman who said Smith performed oral sex on her in the back of his car while she was drunk and pleading with him to stop. Defense attorneys noted that she did not mention it in an affidavit for Coast Guard investigators and say her story has changed.
-A woman who described a night in which she and Smith had a series of sexual encounters in her dorm room. The woman said she never protested because she was relying on Smith to keep a secret involving a crime that could have jeopardized her career. Prosecutors say Smith held that secret over her, extorting her for sexual favors. Smith said he never mentioned the secret and said the acts were consensual.
-A woman who said that Smith, a good friend, pinned her to a wall and kissed her at an off-campus party last spring. She said she didn't want to kiss him, but they'd kissed before and she said she never indicated she didn't want to be kissed. Smith said he thought it was consensual
Accused Cadet Takes the Stand
Associated Press | June 26, 2006
NEW LONDON, Conn. - A Coast Guard Academy cadet testified at his court-martial Monday that he had consensual sex with his on-again, off-again girlfriend on the night she says he raped her.
"I knew that she had been drinking but I didn't really think she was that drunk or anything," Cadet Webster Smith told the military jury.
The case against the 23-year-old Houston man is the first court-martial of a student in the academy's 130-year history. Smith has pleaded not guilty to rape, sodomy, extortion and assault charges that stem from allegations made by the sometimes-girlfriend and three other female cadets.
The woman who accused Smith of rape said she remembers nearly nothing about that night last June when she alleges Smith raped her. She says she drank as much as three liters of wine and passed out, then woke up the next morning and was told they'd had sex.
Smith testified Monday that the sex that night was consensual, and that the woman drank far less than she claimed. He also disputed a timeline of events provided by her best friend.
"Her demeanor up until we had sex was fine," Smith said Monday.
Smith testified that he and the woman had some drinks and went to a bar. She gave him a look, he said, and they went out to the car, where he said they had consensual sex. She got sick after they had sex, he said, but when they got home, she was able to walk to bed. He said they had sex again the next morning and evening.
Prosecutors maintain that the woman could not have consented to sex that night and that Smith had to carry the woman inside when they got home. Defense attorneys say Smith and the woman continued their sporadic relationship for months and had sex after that night.
Prosecutors say Smith preyed on young women, manipulating them into sexual situations when they were drunk and vulnerable. With no physical evidence in the case, defense attorneys hope to persuade jurors that the testimony against Smith is unreliable.
Another woman has said that Smith performed oral sex on her in the back of his car while she was drunk and pleading with him to stop. Defense attorneys note that the woman did not mention this in an affidavit for Coast Guard investigators, and that her story has changed. Smith said that encounter never happened.
A third woman said she never resisted when she and Smith took naked photographs together, gave each other massages and had oral sex. The woman said she was relying on Smith to keep a secret, one involving a crime that could have jeopardized her career in the Coast Guard. Prosecutors say Smith held that secret over her, extorting her for sexual favors.
Smith said Monday that he and the woman had talked about taking naked pictures before and he thought they were just doing what they had talked about. He said he never mentioned the secret.
The fourth woman said that Smith, a good friend, pinned her to a wall and kissed her at an off-campus party last spring. She said she didn't want to kiss him, but they'd kissed before and she said she never indicated she didn't want to be kissed. Smith said he thought that encounter was consensual.
Trial Shows Another Coast Guard Academy
Associated Press | June 26, 2006
NEW LONDON, Conn. - College guide books describe the U.S. Coast Guard Academy as a lockstep environment where fraternization is prohibited and everything is scrutinized for good order and discipline.
You'd never know it from the first week of testimony in the academy's first court-martial of a student.
The four female cadets who have accused Cadet Webster Smith of sexual offenses presented stories of heavy drinking at off-campus parties, naked photographs and late-night meetings behind locked barracks doors.
The school has historically received less attention than the other military academies and doesn't relish the attention. School spokesman David French said the academy should be judged not by the testimony, but for handling the trial fairly.
"You can't get a sense of what life is like here from a trial," French said.
Smith, 23, of Houston, has pleaded not guilty to rape, sodomy, extortion and assault charges that stem from the allegations by his on-again, off-again girlfriend and the three other female cadets.
Prosecutors said he preyed on young women, manipulating them into sexual situations when they were drunk and vulnerable. With no physical evidence in the case, defense attorneys hope to persuade jurors that testimony is unreliable.
Smith's attorneys have not said whether he will take the stand Monday in the final day of testimony. Doing so would open himself up to intense cross-examination.
The rape case hinges on the testimony of Smith's sometimes girlfriend who said she remembers nearly nothing about the night last June when she alleges he raped her. She says she drank as much as three liters of wine and passed out, then woke up the next morning and was told they'd had sex.
The prosecution maintains that the woman could not have consented to sex that night. Defense attorneys say the sex was consensual, noting that Smith and the woman continued their sporadic relationship for months and had sex after that night.
The other accusers who testified are:
-A woman who said Smith performed oral sex on her in the back of his car while she was drunk and pleading with him to stop. Defense attorneys note that she woman did not mention this in an affidavit for Coast Guard investigators, and say her story has changed.
-A woman who described a night in which she and Smith had a series of sexual encounters in her dorm room, saying she never resisted when they took naked photographs together, gave each other massages and had oral sex. The woman said she was relying on Smith to keep a secret, one involving a crime that could have jeopardized her career in the Coast Guard. Prosecutors say Smith held that secret over her, extorting her for sexual favors.
-A woman who said that Smith, a good friend, pinned her to a wall and kissed her at an off-campus party last spring. She said she didn't want to kiss him, but they'd kissed before and she said she never indicated she didn't want to be kissed.
New Witness Testifies in Cadet Rape Trial
Associated Press | June 22, 2006
NEW LONDON, Conn. - A witness testified Wednesday that a Coast Guard Academy cadet charged with rape forcibly performed oral sex on her, providing the most damaging testimony in the trial so far.
Webster Smith, 22, of Houston is the first cadet to be court-martialed in the academy's history. He has pleaded not guilty to rape, sodomy, extortion and assault charges that stem from allegations by his on-again, off-again girlfriend and three other female cadets.
The rape charge involves the girlfriend, who testified Tuesday that she could not remember having sex with Smith one night last year because she drank about two large bottles of wine.
Wednesday's testimony was from a friend and classmate of Smith's who said she went to a party with him and got sick.
Because she had thrown up on herself, Smith made her remove her pants before getting into his car, the woman testified. Sitting beside her, he allegedly told her he was considering reporting her to academy officers, a statement prosecutors said amounted to extortion. He then performed oral sex on her, said the woman, who is now an officer.
"I was telling him 'No, Webster, no,'" the woman said. "I was telling him I didn't want this."
"He was a friend. It never crossed my mind that this would happen," she said.
A third accuser testified Wednesday that Smith pinned her to the wall and kissed her at a party last spring. Asked whether she wanted him to kiss her, she said no.
But the defense suggested Smith thought the two had a budding relationship. The woman acknowledged she and Smith hung out regularly, ate dinner together and sometimes talked on the phone 10 to 12 times a day.
She said they remained friends after the incident, which she reported months later, leading to the assault charge.
Earlier Wednesday, a toxicologist testified that the girlfriend, Smith's chief accuser, would have been nearly comatose if she drank as much wine as she said. The accuser, who also is now an officer, said she remembers little about the night of the alleged rape.
Cynthia Morris-Kukoski, a lieutenant commander in the Naval Reserve who is also a clinical pharmacist and toxicologist, testified that a person of the accuser's build who drank that much in just a few hours would be bordering on comatose.
Prosecutors want to show that the woman could not have consented to sex because she was too drunk.
Defense attorneys believe the effects of alcohol have been overstated and plan to argue the woman would have been dead if she drank as much as she said. They also argue that sex between the two was always consensual.
Prosecutors have sought to cast Smith as a manipulative, controlling senior who preyed on vulnerable women.
Coast Guard Cadet's Accuser Testifies
Associated Press | June 20, 2006
NEW LONDON, Connecticut - A Coast Guard cadet accused of rape and other sex offenses was a manipulative senior who preyed on lonely women, a prosecutor said Tuesday in opening arguments at the defendant's court-martial.
Webster Smith, 22, of Houston pleaded not guilty Monday in the first student court-martial in Coast Guard Academy history to charges including rape, sodomy, extortion and assault that stem from allegations by three female cadets.
His military attorney compared the case to the Salem witch trials, in which people were put to death based on concocted stories that weren't backed up by evidence.
The case centers on a night of heavy drinking last summer in Annapolis, Maryland. Friends testified during pretrial hearings that one of the accusers - Smith's on-again, off-again girlfriend - drank until she passed out and was enraged the next morning when she learned that she and Smith had had sex.
She took the stand Tuesday as the first witness and testified that she did not remember having sex with Smith that night, but that he told her a condom had broken and she needed to get emergency contraception. She said she waited several weeks before taking a pregnancy test.
"When did you realize that the accused had actually had sex with you?" asked Cmdr. Ronald Bald, the military prosecutor.
"When I saw the positive result on the pregnancy test," she said.
"What did you think had happened?" Bald asked
"I thought that I had been date-raped," she replied.
The woman said she had consumed about two bottles of wine that night.
In his opening statement, Bald described Smith as a manipulative person who preyed on women when they were weak.
"When they were drunk and alone he moved in. When they were helpless, he moved in. When they had nowhere left to turn, he moved in," Bald said.
Smith's military defense lawyer, Lt. Stuart Kirkby, stressed there is no DNA, no forensic evidence, no rape kit and no crime scene photos. He said the former girlfriend "doesn't recall anything from the moment she left the house, conveniently, until the very next morning."
Defense attorneys maintain the young woman was not as drunk as she says and suggested Monday that she may have concocted the rape accusation to cover up her embarrassment at having sex with an on-again, off-again boyfriend.
The jury of Coast Guard officers includes four white men, one white woman, three black men and a man of Asian descent.
Smith's attorneys, who raised the possibility that the charges could be racially motivated, said they were pleased by the jury's diversity. Smith is black and the accusers are white.
Smith also faces charges of disobeying an order, unlawful entry and being absent without leave.
The court-martial is expected to take a week.
Coast Guard Cadet to be Court-Martialed
Associated Press | April 13, 2006
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - A cadet at the Coast Guard Academy will face a court-martial on rape and other charges, the first such trial in the institution's history, the school said Wednesday.
Webster M. Smith, 22, faces nine charges including rape, sodomy, extortion and assault.
He had faced misconduct accusations from seven female cadets, ranging from rape to improper touching. Rear Adm. James C. Van Sice, the academy superintendent, dismissed five charges Wednesday, including indecent assault and one sodomy charge.
It was unclear whether any of the accusers were dropped from the case altogether.
The rape charge involves a woman friends described as Smith's on-again, off-again girlfriend, and testimony last month centered on a night of drinking in Annapolis, Md.
One friend testified that the alleged victim passed out and was shocked to learn the next morning that she and Smith had had sex.
The date of the court-martial, the military equivalent of a trial, was not set.
"As we've said from the beginning, Webster Smith is not guilty of these charges, and we will make that demonstration," said defense attorney Merle Smith, no relation to the cadet.
Smith, a senior, remains enrolled but has been barred from contact with other cadets. His status will stay the same until the trial is over, an academy spokesman said. He has not completed the required coursework to be eligible to graduate this spring.
The school is not releasing the identities of the accusers.
The academy, founded in 1876, is the smallest U.S. service academy, with an enrollment of about 980.
Women represent about 30 percent of Coast Guard Academy cadets, compared with less than 20 percent at the Air Force and Naval academies and about 15 percent at West Point.
Coast Guard Cadets' Rape Hearing Begins
Associated Press | March 21, 2006
NEW LONDON, Connecticut - A U.S. Naval Academy midshipman testified Tuesday about a night of heavy drinking with two Coast Guard cadets that ended with one accusing the other of rape.
Midshipman Kristin Strizki was among the final witnesses for the government at a hearing that will determine whether Coast Guard Cadet Webster M. Smith, 22, a member of the academy football team, is court-martialed.
Seven female cadets have accused Smith of assaulting them between May and November 2005. One of the cadets, a friend of Strizki's, said she was raped.
The woman was among five alleged victims who testified Monday in secret at the Article 32 hearing, the military equivalent of a grand jury. Strizki's testimony Tuesday was public.
Strizki said that the two Coast Guard cadets were visiting her in Annapolis, Maryland, when they began drinking at an off-campus house. She said the alleged victim passed out after consuming more than 2 liters of wine and two beers.
The next morning, Smith suggested Strizki take her friend to get the morning-after pill, she said.
Strizki said her friend had no recollection of having sex with Smith and confronted him.
"He said, 'Oh please, you wanted it,'" she testified. "That's when she said, 'There is no way in hell I would have wanted to have sex with you last night, even if I was sober.'"
Another witness, Coast Guard cadet Jere Cherni, testified that the alleged victim became pregnant and underwent an operation that she felt was immoral. After objec!ions from Smith's attorneys, Cherni was not permitted to specify the operation.
Smith's attorney, Lt. Stuart Kirkby, said his client is innocent. He suggested that Smith and the cadet who accused him of rape, had had an on-again, off-again sexual relationship.
The government rested its case late Tuesday morning. The defense was to begin presenting witnesses after a lunch break.
Once the hearing ends, Cmdr. Steven Anderson, who is presiding over the hearing, will prepare a report for the superintendent of the academy, Rear Adm. James C. Van Sice, who must make a final ruling within a week on whether to court-martial Smith.
Smith is working at the Naval Submarine Base in Groton and has been barred from contact with other cadets.
Sexual assaults at the military academies drew national attention in 2004, when nearly 150 women at the Air Force Academy in Colorado came forward with accusations that they had been sexually assaulted by fellow cadets between 1993 and 2003. Many alleged they were ignored or ostracized for speaking out. A Pentagon task force found that hostile attitudes and inappropriate treatment of women also persisted at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and at the Naval Academy.
The Coast Guard academy, founded in 1876, is the smallest federal service academy with an enrollment of about 980 cadets.
Cadet Kicked Out Instead of Prosecuted
Associated Press | February 25, 2006
NEW LONDON, Conn. - A prosecutor said he's reviewing how information is exchanged with the U.S. Coast Guard Academy after learning a cadet who admitted sexual misconduct wasn't prosecuted but kicked out of school last year.
New London State's Attorney Kevin Kane would not say whether he believes he has jurisdiction in the case at the academy in this coastal Connecticut city.
An academy spokesman said he could not comment on the case, citing privacy rules.
"It was fully investigated and handled appropriately," Chief Warrant Officer David French said Friday.
According to an academy discipline summary, the male cadet was expelled in December after admitting to sexual misconduct that was determined to be nonconsensual.
"This case has precipitated a review of our policies and procedures with regard to our jurisdictional boundaries, our communication and our respective responsibilities," Kane said. "I have no reason to believe we're not on the same page."
In an interview this week, Capt. Douglas Wisniewski, the commandant of cadets, said the Coast Guard Investigative Service investigated the woman's assault claims. He would not discuss specifics but said prosecution requires more evidence than needed for academy disciplinary decisions.
The woman received medical treatment in October, hospital records show.
Last week, a senior at the academy was charged by the military with raping or assaulting six classmates. The cadet, who has denied any wrongdoing, would be the first sexual assault court martial in the academy's history.
Coast Guard Cadet Charged With Rape
Associated Press | February 17, 2006
NEW LONDON, Conn. - A senior at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy has been charged with sexually assaulting six female cadets in the campus barracks and other sites.
Webster M. Smith, 22, of Houston was separated from the rest of the student population after the first complaint was filed with administrators Dec. 4, the academy said.
Smith, a linebacker on the academy's football team, was charged Feb. 9 under military law with rape, assault, indecent assault and sodomy against female cadets, said Chief Warrant Officer David French, an academy spokesman.
Some of the attacks allegedly happened on academy grounds when Smith entered female cadets' rooms without permission. Others were reported off campus. The rape allegedly occurred in June 2005 during a trip to Annapolis, French said.
A military hearing was tentatively scheduled for March 15 to determine whether there is enough evidence for a trial that could result in a court-martial, French said. Such a military hearing is typically open to the public, but the presiding military official could close it.
After the hearing, the academy's superintendent, Rear Adm. James C. Van Sice, will decide how to proceed.
While separated from other cadets, Smith was not jailed and was allowed to return home for holiday leave. He returned to campus Tuesday and was assigned a work area on academy grounds along the waterfront, an area other cadets are prohibited from entering, the academy said.
"He's no longer in the barracks, and he does not actually stay at the campus at night," French said.
Smith's lawyer, Merle Smith, who is not related, told WTIC-TV the cadet insists he is not guilty of all charges.
"The public is only receiving one side of the story, as all of the charges in their most sordid representation," the lawyer said.
It was unclear whether the alleged victims were under Smith's military command, although seniors have supervisory power over lower-level cadets. French would not release the women's class ranks.
French said there is no recent record of any previous courts-martial at the academy, the smallest federal service academy, with about 980 cadets. About 280 are women, according to its Web site. Male and female cadets share dormitories but have separate rooms.
In 2004, nearly 150 women at the Air Force Academy in Colorado came forward with accusations that they had been sexually assaulted by fellow cadets between 1993 and 2003. Many alleged they were ignored or ostracized by commanders for speaking out. A Pentagon task force found that hostile attitudes and inappropriate treatment of women also persisted at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and at the Naval Academy.
International Herald Tribune - France
(The Associated Press) WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2007
Lawyers for a former cadet who was the first student court-martialed in the 130-year history of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy's are seeking to reverse his convictions for sexual misconduct.
Oral Argument before the Coast Guard Court of Military Appeals is set for 16 January 2008.
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