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Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Two Coast Guard Academy Cadets Face General Court-martial

On September 9, 2016 NEWS Channel 8 in Connecticut reported that the U. S. Coast Guard Academy (CGA) was about to court-martial two senior cadets. This marks the first know court-martial of a Coast Guard cadet since 2006 when Cadet Webster Smith became the first CGA cadet to face a court-martial. The charges sound remarkably similar.
The Webster Smith Case was the subject of two books; Conduct Unbecoming an Officer and Lady, and The case of Cadet Webster Smith, UCGC Vol02, Nr 01-03.
https://www.amazon.com/CONDUCT-UNBECOMING-Officer-Lady-Conviction/dp/1460978021/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

 https://www.amazon.com/Webster-Smith-Court-martial-Justice-Dead-ebook/dp/B01H12LGZW/ref=la_B006WQKFJM_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1474417649&sr=1-8

The AP is reporting that Cadet 1/C Michael Shermot was sentenced to a year in prison for sexual assault and dismissed from the service after being found guilty at a court-martial.
The Coast Guard says Michael Shermot was sentenced Friday, September 16, by a military judge in Norfolk, Virginia. He was found guilty Thursday, September 15th..
Shermot was a senior at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, when he was charged and suspended from the school in December. Authorities have not disclosed details of the sexual assault.
The Day newspaper of New London reports the assault was reported in West Chester, Pennsylvania, in September of last year. Shermot was charged with sexual assault by impairment, meaning the victim was not able to consent. He’s from Shillington, Pennsylvania.

There was a total news blackout for a whole year until last week. This is what was reported.


NEW LONDON, Conn. (WTNH) — A court-martial has been scheduled in Norfolk, Virginia for two Coast Guard cadets who have been accused of sexual assault.
Coast Guard Academy spokesperson David Santos tells News 8 that Cadet Michael Shermot is charged with violation of Article 120 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, Sexual Assault. Shermot, a native of Shillington, Pa. will appear before a military judge on September 12.
Santos says Shermot’s charge stems from an alleged incident in Westchester, Pa., that occurred sometime between September 4th and 5th of 2015.


WHO IS MIKE SHERMOT?
Meet your SAAC President, 1/C Mike Shermot. Shermot is a member of the Wrestling team where he finished last season with a record of 21-6. He made it to the NCAA Championships and earned All-Northeast Honors.
He is also the Student Naval Architect and Marine Engineer Vice President. Mike has been wrestling since he was 10 years old and aspires to go to flight school.
Mike says he "loves long walks on the beach, candle lit dinners, and laying down watching shooting stars."
 U.S. Coast Guard Academy Student-Athlete Advisory Committee's photo.
                             (Cadet 1/C Mike Shermot, USCGA, above)

A second cadet, Anthony Livingstone of Plainfield, N.J., faces charges of sexual assault, extortion, and conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman. A violation of the Uniform Code of Military   Justice articles 120, 127 and 133.
                            (Cadet 1/C Anthony Livingstone, USCGA, above)
The alleged assault involving Livingstone occurred at the academy in September 2015, according to Santos. His court-martial is scheduled to begin on October 26.
Both Livingstone and Shermot are members of the Coast Guard Academy Class of 2016.
 http://wtnh.com/2016/09/09/2-coast-guard-cadets-facing-court-martial-on-sex-assault-allegations/
 
Two Members of Coast Guard Academy Face Court-Martial
Gavel at rest
NEW LONDON -- Two members of the Coast Guard Academy Class of 2016 are facing court-martial proceedings after being charged in separate sexual assault cases.
The cadets are suspended from the corps of cadets following a recommendation by academy Superintendent Rear Adm. James Rendon, while their cases go through the judicial process, according to academy spokesman David Santos.
Michael Shermot is charged with sexual assault by impairment, meaning the alleged victim was unable to consent. His court-martial trial is scheduled to begin on Monday and will be held in Norfolk, Va.
Shermot was suspended from the corps of cadets on Dec. 29, 2015. He was a member of the wrestling team and a native of Shillington, Pa., according to the academy's athletics website.
Shermot faces up to 30 years in prison, dismissal from the Coast Guard and total forfeiture of all pay and allowances.
The alleged assault occurred in Westchester, Pa., sometime between Sept. 4 and 5 of 2015, according to Santos.
The Coast Guard Investigative Service became involved in the case after a civil investigation was started by local police in Westchester.
After concerns were made about Shermot's military status and some of the witnesses involved in the case, the decision was made to have the Coast Guard take over jurisdiction of the case, said Lt. Cmdr. Rob Stiles, a legal instructor at the academy.
Stiles was previously the chief of military justice for the Coast Guard Legal Service Command.
Shermot has been reassigned to the Coast Guard's yard in Baltimore, Md., while he awaits court-martial. He's been assigned work that is comparable to what a lower-grade enlisted member does.
Because the military has much more control over the movements of its members, pretrial confinement is usually not used unless the person is a flight risk or poses an imminent threat, Stiles said.
Anthony Livingstone is charged with sexual assault by lack of consent, extortion and conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman.
His court-martial trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 26, and also will be held in Norfolk.
Livingstone was suspended from the corps on Dec. 1, 2015. He was a member of the football team and a native of Plainfield, N.J., according to the academy's athletics website
Livingstone allegedly assaulted another cadet multiple times at the academy in September 2015, according to Stiles. He also allegedly threatened others in an attempt to prevent them from speaking about the alleged incidents and cooperating with law enforcement.
He faces up to 30 years of confinement, disenrollment and total forfeiture of all pay and allowances for the sexual assault charge; up to three years of confinement, disenrollment and total forfeiture of all pay and allowances for the extortion charge; and up to one year confinement and total forfeiture of all pay and allowances for the unbecoming conduct charge.
Santos said information about the cadets being suspended was not made public until now because "we typically release information on a court-martial prior to the convening date."
Court-martial cases used to occur in New London, but in the last year the Coast Guard has moved most of its prosecutions to Norfolk and Alameda, Calif., where its two largest legal commands are located, in an attempt to create two large concentrated centers of prosecution, Stiles said.
The goal is to develop expert justice practitioners who can more quickly and ably handle prosecutions and sexual assault cases, he said.
In the past prosecutions took place all over the country, which provided challenges from a resource perspective, he said.
( The Day, New London, Conn. | Sep 12, 2016 |
 http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016/09/12/two-members-coast-guard-academy-face-court-martial.html

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1 Comments:

Blogger ichbinalj said...

It will be interesting to see how they got around the issue of jurisdiction. It appears that the alleged misconduct occurred away from the CGA in the State of Pennsylvania while the accused was on leave or in a liberty status and the alleged victim was a civilian. This would all appear to be beyond the scope of CG jurisdiction. Under the old Fletcher Doctrine there would appear to be no jurisdiction for the CG to proceed against Mike Shermot. I can't wait for more facts to trickle out or to read the record on appeal.

4:20 AM  

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