Aberdeen scandal
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In 1996 the Aberdeen sex scandal started at a U.S. Army base in Aberdeen, Maryland. The army brought charges against 12 officers.
The heaviest punishment was brought against Staff Sergeant Delmar Simpson. A military trial found him guilty of 18 counts of rape against six women trainees. He was sentenced to 25 years in military prison. The key to the conviction was "constructive force", in which even seemingly consensual sex can be termed rape, given the power differences between the participants.
Other officers charged included Staff Sergeants Loren Taylor and Anthony Fore, Sergeant George Blackley, a captain, two other sergeants, and four non-commissioned officers.
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External links
- PBS News Hour report (http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/military/april97/sex_scandal_4-29.html)
- Vernell Robinson Jr verdict (http://www.cnn.com/US/9705/27/army.sex/)
- Sex abuse by officers is widespread (http://www.themilitant.com/1996/6043/6043_17.html)