Former Army drill instructor convicted of raping trainees

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Investigators uncover disturbing pattern
Trainees said they were intimidated
Military has own definition of rape
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April 29, 1997
Web posted at: 6:00 p.m. EDT

ABERDEEN, Maryland (CNN) -- A U.S. military jury Tuesday convicted a former Army drill instructor at the center of the Aberdeen sex scandal of 18 of 19 rape charges, after deliberating for 31 hours over five days.

Staff Sgt. Delmar Simpson stood at attention facing the judge as the verdicts were read in rapid-fire succession by the head of the military panel in the packed courtroom.

Court-martial rules required four of the six jurors to agree on any guilty verdict. The breakdown was not made public.

Simpson, 32, could face life in prison for just one rape conviction. The sentencing phase is to start Monday.

"We are all satisfied that due process is continuing along. We are hoping for a speedy conclusion to all this," said Lt. Col. Gabriel Riesco, chief of staff for the Ordnance Center and School at Aberdeen Proving Ground where Simpson worked.

In all, Simpson faced 54 counts. He was found guilty as charged on 43 of them, including 18 rape counts; innocent of seven counts; and guilty of lesser offenses in the other four counts. Those four included the 19th rape count in which he was acquitted of rape but found guilty of indecent assault.

He already had pleaded guilty to 11 counts of consensual sex and five counts of propositioning, for which he faces a maximum sentence of 32 years in prison.

The jury convicted Simpson following a 10-day trial that illuminated the worst sex scandal in the Army's history.

Investigators uncover disturbing pattern

The scandal broke last fall when a female private at Aberdeen accused Simpson of sexual harassment.

Army investigators uncovered a disturbing pattern of drill sergeants and other instructors routinely engaging in sex with female trainees -- and some 50 victims were identified.

Twenty instructors were suspended from duty, and interviews were done with more than 1,800 witnesses.

Simpson at one point faced 170 charges, including two dozen rape counts. His case was the 12th at Aberdeen to be resolved either by court-martial or administrative hearing, and the first rape case to be tried.

Trainees said they were intimidated

During the trial, several trainees testified that they were intimidated and raped by Simpson, a 6-foot-4 inch native of Chester, South Carolina.

Among them was a 21-year-old private first class from Illinois who said she endured the abuse because she wanted to get promoted, and a 23-year-old private first class from Wyoming who said she was raped eight times during her first four weeks of training.

The 23-year-old described feeling like a puppet as Simpson ordered her to have sex in his office, empty barrack rooms and his off-base apartment. She said the worst time was when he took off her olive-green battle dress uniform.

One of Simpson's accusers testified that he and another sergeant were rumored to be in competition over who could have sex with more trainees. Sex was so common, witnesses testified, that code words were used: Sergeants sleeping with trainees were "in the game;" trainees who participated willingly were "locked in tight."

The defense said the accusers were lying. Defense witnesses from the same company as Simpson's accusers said two of them were frequent liars, who had confided a desire to have sex with Simpson.

The investigation of sexual misconduct has spread from Aberdeen to Army bases worldwide.

The scandal also spurred accusations from some black leaders of racism -- all 12 Aberdeen soldiers charged are black while most of their accusers are white.

At a March news conference called by an official of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, five female Army recruits said military investigators tried to pressure them into claiming they were raped by superiors. The women, none of whom who is involved in Simpson's case, said they never made rape accusations.

Military has own definition of rape

Military law states that physical force isn't required to prove rape; "constructive force," including threats or intimidation, is sufficient.

In a key ruling, the judge, Col. Paul Johnston, said drill sergeants command so much authority over trainees -- telling them where to eat and sleep and how to act -- that they are like parents.

Because of that authority, Johnston said, drill sergeants do not need to use a weapon or threats of harm to fit the definition of "constructive force" necessary for a rape conviction.

"This is a case of the accused using his power, his easy access and his ability to control -- an unscrupulous drill sergeant grossly misusing his position to force his sexual attentions on trainees," prosecutor Capt. Theresa Gallagher said in closing arguments.

Defense attorney Frank Spinner told jurors: "If you convict Sgt. Simpson, you'll be sending a message out to the Army that no drill sergeant is safe."

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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