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Originally posted by hotpinkurinalmint
reply to post by jd140
What happens if there is a plea bargain or he is only convicted on some of the counts?
My best guess is that he will get a slap on the wrist and somebody in the Marines will set him up with a job. This would effectivley be "getting off."
Originally posted by midnightbrigade
wait...if he DID rape someone....
didn't he already get off?
SAN DIEGO -- A San Diego-based U.S. Marine officer, Capt. Douglas S. Wacker, who is accused of rape and indecent assault, will be tried in a general court-martial set to begin Wednesday, Marine Corps officials said.
Captain Wacker is assigned to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot’s Headquarters and Service Battalion. He is to be arraigned at MCRD on 11 counts, including two counts of rape, one count of attempted rape, five counts of conduct unbecoming an officer, two counts of obstruction of justice and one count of indecent assault, according to depot spokesman, Maj. Christopher Logan.
No other details of the alleged crimes were released by the Marine Corps.
The court-martial followed an Article 32 hearing held on July 14, 2009, Logan said. An Article 32 hearing is similar to a civilian court’s preliminary hearing, where an investigating officer determines if there is enough evidence to order a trial. After the hearing, MCRD Commanding General, Brig. Gen. Angela Salinas, referred the charges for trial.
10News spoke briefly with Capt. Wacker Monday night at his apartment in Pacific beach. He refused to comment and referred all questions to his attorney.
A friend and neighbor told 10News she was shocked at the allegations. “This is weird. Honestly, I think this is a joke,” Ashley Tydon said. She described Capt. Wacker as “funny, honest and a good friend and neighbor.”
Capt. Wacker recently graduated from USD Law School and was in line to become a JAG, or a member of the Judge Advocate General’s Corps, a military attorney, 10 News reported. San Diego attorney, Michael McCloskey, a former JAG, said the charges could ruin Capt. Wacker’s chances for ever becoming a JAG. “In the military setting and just generally around the world,” McCloskey said, “one being accused has a kind of scarlet letter.”
Originally posted by fraterormus
Since the early 1990s, each branch of the U.S. Military has adopted a policy of “Zero Tolerance” of sexual assault or harassment by personnel. However, the long‐term effects of such policy change remain to be seen.
According to Pentagon reports there are 2,923 reports of sexual assault across the military every year. The Pentagon estimates that only 10 percent of sexual assaults among members of the active duty military are reported, bringing the estimated total to almost 30,000 cases of sexual assault per annum.
Statistics show that 1 in 4 women in the US Military will be raped by their fellow soldiers. Women have a greater chance of being raped in the Military than the chance of death on the front-lines!
Among the cases reported, Pentagon officials acknowledged that only a small number actually went to military courts. Out of the 2,923 that were reported and provided evidence, only 317 cases were actually referred for courts-martial, while 247 were referred for nonjudicial punishment, the other 2,359 went entirely unaddressed. Of those 317 cases that were referred for courts-martial, only 2-3% ever actually went to a courts-martial. Of that 2-3%, the vast majority, being 74-85% of those soldiers, were convicted of rape or sexual assault but still left the military with honorable discharges (therefore no record).
What this all means is that women in the military not only face the possibility of being betrayed by their comrades, but also being betrayed by the system that is supposed to protect them with "Zero Tolerance".
Since this news article represents one of those few, rare cases that has been referred for courts-martial and actually made it there, chances show that they will be convicted of rape or sexual assault, but they will be allowed to discharge honorably and carry no record of their crime.
[edit on 20-8-2009 by fraterormus]
Originally posted by hotpinkurinalmint
reply to post by jd140
My predicition, that I am willing to stand by is that the punishment he gets will be light compared to the punishment he actually deserves. The problem with this bet, is that it is difficult to quantify precisely what a proper punishment would be. We would have to consider many factors like the circumstances of the rapes, characteristics of the victims, etc.
Originally posted by hotpinkurinalmint
If you read the above link, you will read about how a marine is facing a court martial for raping his law school classmates. My guess is that he will eventually wind up okay at the end of the day?
Why?
Simple. The US military has created a culture that devalues human lives. If the military-industrial complex can rape entire countries at their whim, it follows that individual soldiers should be allowed to rape individual people for sport.
In the military justice system, the Prosecution has numerous attorneys and paralegals working hard to put you in prison for as long as possible. The accused is often scared, overwhelmed, and feels helpless, and they should be. The deck is stacked against them. That is what the military wants. Defendants believe that they have no choice but to quickly plead guilty. PLEADING GUILTY SHOULD BE A LAST RESORT! YET, SOME MILITARY & CIVILIAN DEFENSE LAWYERS PLEAD ALL OF THEIR CLIENTS GUILTY, EVEN WHEN THEY HAVE A FIGHTING CHANCE OR THEY ARE INNOCENT.
-ASK YOUR PROSPECTIVE CIVILIAN OR MILITARY LAWYER TO DESCRIBE THE DETAILS & OUTCOMES OF THE LAST 12 CASES THEY DEFENDED. ASK HOW MANY OF THIER CLIENTS WERE ACQUITTED, HOW MANY WERE NOT DISCHARGED FROM THE MILITARY, & HOW MANY CASES THEY FOUGHT IN FRONT OF A JURY. Click here to see Mr. Waddington's Recent Case Results
The military has a 96% conviction rate and almost all convicted defendants are discharged from the military and/or sent to prison