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Prosecutor: sergeant used 'fear and force' to get sex
In this story:
- 'This was not consensual sex'
- Defense says women were attracted to Simpson
- Army files charges against another sergeant
- Related stories and sites
April 11, 1997
Web posted at: 10:00 p.m. EST
ABERDEEN, Maryland (CNN) -- Military prosecutors portrayed Staff Sgt. Delmar Simpson on Friday as a man who used "fear and force" to humiliate and degrade female soldiers to satisfy "his own selfish sexual desire."
The drill sergeant faces 19 counts of rape involving five female privates at Aberdeen Proving Ground, a weapons-testing and training center 30 miles northeast of Baltimore.
He is also charged with sodomizing, punching, grabbing or threatening trainees. He has pleaded innocent to 58 criminal allegations involving 22 current and former women soldiers.
The 32-year-old Simpson has already pleaded guilty to having consensual sex with 11 trainees in violation of an Army rule prohibiting personal relationships between supervisors and subordinates.
In opening statements, Prosecutor Capt. Dave Thomas told the military jury of four officers and two sergeants: "This case is about rape, power, access and control." Thomas said Simpson used fear and intimidation to force young female recruits to gratify his selfish sexual desires.
'This was not consensual sex'
Thomas described several incidents in which Simpson is alleged to have coerced female soldiers into having sex.
"This was not consensual sex," Thomas said. "There wasn't any romance here. It was 'Take off your clothes, lay down on the floor, stop crying.' And after the sex, it was 'Put your clothes on and leave.'"
The prosecutor said victims will testify that Simpson threatened them with death if they talked. The attorney quoted one private as saying Simpson told her, "If anyone finds out, I'll kill you."
Simpson's defense attorney, Capt. Ed Brady, said the case was not about rape but about women who were "attracted to and willingly engaged in sex with" Simpson.
Brady argued that the women who are making charges against Simpson were coerced by military investigators to "aggressively embellish their stories," claiming one criminal investigator told one of the women: "Make it juicy."
Defense says women were attracted to Simpson
Five current and former Aberdeen trainees have said investigators tried to pressure them into falsely claiming they were raped.
Brady argued the women had sex with Simpson either because they were seeking preferential treatment or they were attracted to him.
"This case is about a drill sergeant who stepped over the line, who engaged in consensual sex when he should not have," Brady said. "But it's also about privates who engaged in sex with Simpson and should not have. It's also about that."
The prosecution's first witness, Warrant Officer Paul Wiatr, Simpson's supervisor from January through July 1995, said under cross-examination that none of Simpson's trainees complained about sexual abuse, despite opportunities to do so anonymously or in private with a female drill sergeant.
Prosecuting attorney Capt. Theresa Gallagher said Simpson had ordered the women not to talk to the female drill sergeant.
Army files charges against another sergeant
Simpson's case is the most serious arising from the Army's investigation of sexual misconduct at Aberdeen Proving Ground. He is one of 12 Aberdeen staff members charged in the probe, which has spread to military bases worldwide.
The Army identified another defendant Friday, Sgt. 1st Class Tony Cross. The 33-year-old drill sergeant is charged with 17 offenses involving four female trainees, including sodomy, adultery and improper personal or sexual relationships. He is the 12th man to be charged in the scandal.
Prosecutors are to begin calling Simpson's alleged victims to the stand on Monday.
Military Affairs Correspondent Jamie McIntyre and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Army rape trial gets under way - April 11, 1997
- Three soldiers arraigned in U.S. Army sex scandal - December 6, 1996
Related sites:
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window- U.S. Army Press Release: Army investigates allegations of sexual misconduct and rape in training command
- Charges preferred in three cases
- U.S. Army Definition of Sexual Harassment
- U.S. Army
- The Pentagon
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