Special Forces soldier escapes from Vilseck hotel after kidnapping, sexual assault conviction

Special Forces soldier escapes from Vilseck hotel after kidnapping, sexual assault conviction

www.stripes.com

VILSECK, Germany — A manhunt is under way for a U.S. Special Forces soldier who fled after being convicted of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a German woman.

Sgt. 1st Class Kelly A. Stewart — who was found guilty of multiple charges including kidnapping, forcible sodomy and aggravated sexual assault of a woman in an August 2008 incident — was last seen early Thursday morning by his escort at an on-post hotel.

Stewart, 36, is an Iraq war veteran who trains fellow Special Forces soldiers...

(visit the link for the full news article)

“He’s an angry animal and not a human,” said the 29-year-old victim, standing outside the Vilseck courthouse Thursday morning after learning he had disappeared. “I know how dangerous he is. It’s impossible to believe that they left him alone last night.”

“He should have had a guard. He was found guilty last night,” Lorch said. “Under German law, we would have thrown him in jail from the beginning and brought him to court in handcuffs. Here he walks around as a free man. He’s found guilty, and he walks out the door. It’s ridiculous.”

On Tuesday, government prosecutors built a case that relied, almost entirely, on testimony from the victim, who said she met Stewart at the See-studio disco in Böblingen on Aug. 22 last year and left with him expecting a “one-night stand” at her place. Instead, Stewart told a cab driver to take them to his hotel in the early hours of Aug. 23, where he persuaded her to come to his room for a drink, she said.

I have a hard time believing most of this. His conviction based 'almost entirely' on the testimony of the victim. He admitted to having sex with her, but insisted it was consensual.

This guy sounds like a patsy to me. It also sounds like the government is going to have a grand old time taking this one in.



www.stripes.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Mod Edit: External Source Tags – Please Review This Link.

[edit on 8/20/2009 by semperfortis]

Convictions like this happen all the time. It is the only crime I know of where you can go to jail for life because someone has second thoughts about you. No evidence needed, all a person has to say is "I said no" and BAM your life is turned upside down and you are an accused rapist.

In the military its worse. You are guilty until proven innocent. This is why when in rape cases they want as much evidence as possible before they take it to trial. Plus this was a German national, so this guy was doomed from the start.

If this hadn't been a German national I doubt it would have gone to court.

reply to post by jd140


Do you think they are going to have a hard time getting him back in custody, JD?

I've probably just seen too many movies.

Is it common to do what they did in this case and allow the soldier, even when found guilty, to go somewhere other than jail, with only one guard, or 'escort?'

The Germans seem really mad about that.

Can you tell me if I understand this correctly?

There was court-martial, in which he was found not guilty, he had a CIVILIAN trial by the Germans, was found GUILTY and then he was sentenced by a panel of Military?

Is that the way things are always done over there?

If i'm right in saying, that special forces training centre used to be the LRRP training centre, i spent a year of my service down in that area. A great area to train in.

Best of luck finding this guy if he practices what they teach down there. He'll need it if he doesn't want to be the wrong end of a German copper's nightstick.

Wheres Col Trautman when you need him?

CX.

On Tuesday, government prosecutors built a case that relied, almost entirely, on testimony from the victim, who said she met Stewart at the See-studio disco in Böblingen on Aug. 22 last year and left with him expecting a “one-night stand” at her place.

Is that not admitting consent right there?I mean umm?
What else is it?Because they did it at his place, its rape?

Mod Edit: External Source Tags – Please Review This Link.

[edit on 8/20/2009 by semperfortis]

Reply to post by CaptainCaveMan

So she changed her mind and now it's rape, I guess. I just can't help but think there is more to it...that they wanted this guy gone. It ssems like the court-martial should have been thorough enough to determine if there was wrongdoing.


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

Like I said before.

If this had not been a German national there wouldn't be a trial. Instead you would be reading this article on ATS about how a SF soldier got away with rape and the Army is covering for him.

Originally posted by jd140
No evidence needed, all a person has to say is "I said no" and BAM your life is turned upside down and you are an accused rapist.

i think it entirely depends on weather she changed her mind before or after he sodomised her!!!

if she went to his room for a one night stand and he decided to do whatever he wanted to her, regardless of weather or not she liked it, that would be aggravated sexual assault, would it not.

having a one night stand does not mean she gave him permission to do anything he liked.

i would imagine that the difference between the court marshal would be that the german civilian court was convinced she didn't agree to sodomy where the military weren't convinced, or they didn't care.

reply to post by pieman



Who is to say when or if she changed her mind or what she consented to?


If you answered the victim then you are a winner.

reply to post by jd140


and because of that, conviction rates for rape and sexual assault are among the lowest conviction rates for any crime. if the guy was convicted, i'ld say there was some good evidence.

I'm confused...

She left with the man expecting a one night stand....

They go back to his hotel and have sex...

And then it's called rape?

Am I missing something?

And then they left the special ops soldier alone in a hotel after being found guilty, so there is a special ops American roaming Germany at the moment..

This sounds like all politics! So they had to get a conviction to satisfy somebody, but they need the guy training other soldiers, so his handler conveniently loses him?!

I agree with everybody that rape is an extremely hard thing to prove or even define. Is it still rape if she wants him to stop during? Etc., Etc. and th penalties are very harsh (justly so in most cases).

So, weak evidence, political conviction, and easy escape!

Sounds like everything worked out and this guy is back on the job!

I think forcible sodomy would be evidenced.

I dont expect that it's a comfortable experience and I am sure there would be physical damage.

Rape convictions are notoriously hard to achieve unless there is significant physical evidence.

reply to post by pieman


Read the article and let me know what the good evidence was.

I stand by my previous statement that if she wasn't a German National then there wouldn't have been a trial.

reply to post by CaptainCaveMan




In all fairness to the "victim", none of us know for sure that this ended up being consentual because none of us were actually there.


Is it too impossible to believe that someone can put on the facade of being a nice, well mannered gentleman in public, but once behind closed doors could turn into a monster?

Remember, Ted Bundy was a super nice guy, well groomed, well mannered, and women adored him. Guess what he would do once behind closed doors?

Im not saying he definitely did it or is guilty of anything because sometimes people do make up lies. But to say this woman is a liar simply because she went along willingly in search of a normal one night stand is unfair.

This man was a special forces instructor and he could have easily brutalized and raped this woman and given her way more than she had bargained for.

reply to post by BlackOps719

This man was a special forces instructor and he could have easily brutalized and raped this woman and given her way more than she had bargained for.

In my opinion that is equivalent to the Kobe Bryant rape case.

Sure, getting a 6'6" athletic black man alone in your room sounds fun, but it may be more than you bargained for, and it is not a case of 'rape' it is a case of playing out of your league!!

A Special Forces soldier would surely be a little more physical than what she is used to. He is probably stronger, more aggressive, and has a higher pain tolerance. Therefore, it may not be rape, it may be a different type of sex than she is used to!

A lot of noises are hard to distinguish between pain and pleasure, so it is pretty easy for a guy to think she is enjoying it and go a little harder, when in actuality it is hurting. (Don't go flaming or calling me any names, my wife and I have this discussion a lot, if you have never had this discussion, you are not having good sex! )

I don't know if he is guilty or not, but given the circumstances, even the physical evidence would be suspect! Some men cause trauma even during normal intercourse, and even if they are trying to be careful. They are just a little harder to handle than your average girl is used to.

[edit on 20-8-2009 by getreadyalready]

reply to post by getreadyalready


what tosh!

the words are "forcibly sodomised" - I do not think anyone would be mistaking my sounds for pleasure if that happened to me.



so it's okay to be brutalised behind closed doors, because you agreed to go back...

hey, is it okay to beat your wife because she married you?

[edit on 20-8-2009 by chillpill]

reply to post by KSPigpen


I'm replying before reading the other comments. My intuition is speaking now. What if he was set up as a result of his participation in a false-flag operation? With his expertise and effectiveness as a special ops trainer... he would be like tom cruise or whoever it was in that spy flick.

Maybe he just flipped his lid because of the "vaccines" and/or other non-negotiable subjugations soldiers must undergo.