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   From: mexican-crimes@democrats.org   
      
   FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. –  A former drill sergeant at a Missouri   
   Army post is accused of sexually assaulting several female   
   soldiers during the past three years, including at least one   
   while he was deployed in Afghanistan.   
      
   Staff Sgt. Angel M. Sanchez appeared at a pretrial hearing at   
   Fort Leonard Wood on Wednesday and could face a court-martial   
   later this year, the Washington Post reported.   
      
   Military prosecutors allege that, among other things, Sanchez   
   used his position as a drill sergeant on the Army post to   
   threaten some of the women he's accused of assaulting. He is   
   accused of sexually assaulting four women and assaulting eight   
   others by touching them inappropriately, Tiffany Wood, a Fort   
   Leonard Wood spokeswoman, told the newspaper.   
      
   Sanchez served one tour each in Iraq and Afghanistan, earning a   
   Bronze Star. He arrived at the Missouri post in August and   
   trained new soldiers with the 14th Military Police Brigade, but   
   he no longer performs drill-sergeant duty and now works an   
   office job with his unit, Wood said.   
      
   Several of the women Sanchez is accused of attacking testified   
   at Wednesday's hearing.   
      
   Sanchez's lawyer, Ernesto Gapasin, told the paper "there are a   
   lot of issues with the credibility of the witnesses and the   
   government's case." He said Sanchez was told of the charges by   
   his commanding officer on May 13.   
      
   According to the charging documents, Sanchez's alleged crimes   
   date back to his year in Afghanistan, which lasted from March   
   2011 until March 2012. Prosecutors allege that during that time,   
   Sanchez raped a female service member in a temporary housing   
   unit for women on the base. He is also accused of sexually   
   harassing female soldiers during that time.   
      
   Prosecutors also allege that Sanchez committed several sexual   
   assaults at Fort Leonard Wood between Sept. 17 and Jan. 31 of   
   last year. In one attack, Sanchez made a soldier fear she would   
   be kicked out of the Army if she didn't engage in sexual acts,   
   the charging documents state. He forced her to perform oral sex   
   on him in an office he shared with other drill sergeants,   
   military officials said.   
      
   Sexual assault has been a front-burner issue for the Pentagon,   
   Congress and the White House over the past year, triggering   
   Capitol Hill hearings and persistent questions about how   
   effectively the military was preventing and prosecuting assaults   
   and how well it was treating the victims. Fueling outrage have   
   been high-profile assault cases and arrests, including incidents   
   involving senior commanders, sexual assault prevention officers   
   and military trainers.   
      
   At the same time, the military has long struggled to get victims   
   to report sexual assault in a stern military culture that   
   emphasizes rank, loyalty and toughness. Some victims have   
   complained they were afraid to report assaults to ranking   
   officers for fear of retribution, or said that their initial   
   complaints were rebuffed or ignored.   
      
   The Senate passed a bill in March that would remove military   
   commanders' ability to overturn sexual assault convictions,   
   provide alleged victims with an independent lawyer, and require   
   convicted military members to be sentenced to a dishonorable   
   discharge, at the minimum. The House hasn't voted on the bill.   
      
   http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/05/29/former-drill-sergeant-based-   
   in-missouri-accused-sexually-assaulting-female/?intcmp=obinsite   
      
       
      
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