United States v. Craion

64 M.J. 531, 2006 CCA LEXIS 229, 2006 WL 2728837
CourtArmy Court of Criminal Appeals
DecidedSeptember 26, 2006
DocketARMY 20030281
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 64 M.J. 531 (United States v. Craion) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Army Court of Criminal Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Craion, 64 M.J. 531, 2006 CCA LEXIS 229, 2006 WL 2728837 (acca 2006).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

HOLDEN, Judge:

A general court-martial composed of officers and enlisted members convicted appellant, contrary to his pleas, of willful dereliction of duty (two specifications), forcible sodomy, indecent acts with another, and false swearing in violation of Articles 92, 125, and 134, Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 U.S.C. §§ 892, 925, and 934 [hereinafter UCMJ]. The members sentenced appellant to a dishonorable discharge, confinement for three years, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and reduction to Private El, and the convening authority approved the adjudged sentence. This case is before the court for review under Article 66, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 866.

Appellant claims, inter alia, that the evidence is legally and factually insufficient to support the findings of guilty of willful dereliction of duty for engaging in sex offenses while he was supposed to be moving or accounting for supplies “in a timely manner” (Specifications 1 and 2 of Charge I) and indecent acts with another (Specification 1 of Charge III). These claims warrant discussion but do not merit relief.

Background

The charged offenses stem from appellant’s on-duty sexual activities with a high school student. At the time of the offenses, appellant was a twenty-four-year-old supply technician for the Specializations Program in the Medical Division of the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), an element of the United States Army Medical Research and Materiel Command at Fort Detrick, Maryland. Appellant’s unit was beginning a renovation project which required moving a large quantity of medical supplies and old equipment from the supply room to either a new warehouse or the USAMRIID basement in order to convert a supply area into office space. According to Major (MAJ) MorrisMagee, chief nurse of the medical division, the task was “an ongoing project, because it was extremely large.” In describing appellant’s duties, MAJ Morris-Magee testified that she tasked appellant to assist with removal and relocation of the medical supplies, and “expected [appellant] to take items to point A and point B, and to return in a timely manner.” When asked whether appellant would have additional tasks upon the completion of an assigned task, MAJ Morris-Magee said, ‘Yes, we always have something to do.” In addition to the tasks MAJ Morris-Magee assigned to appellant, Sergeant (SGT) Summerville, a wardmaster in appellant’s duty section, testified that he frequently tasked appellant to account for supplies even though SGT Summerville did not directly supervise appellant.

Appellant’s victim, CC, was sixteen years old at the time of appellant’s offenses. She sought a job as a “summer hire” after her mother, who worked at Fort Detrick, brought her some information about the available opportunities. Major Morris-Ma-gee hired CC to perform “little odd-and-end jobs in the ward” and to assist with the renovation project as needed. After briefly meeting appellant her first day at work, CC began establishing a working relationship with appellant when “Major Magee assigned [her] the job to clean out the kitchen area, and [appellant] helped [her] take the kitchen articles to the warehouse.” After completing this project, appellant and CC continued working together on tasks MAJ Morris-Ma-gee assigned. They also communicated electronically after appellant established a Yahoo! instant message account on the computer CC used. Among other topics discussed with appellant, CC told him that she was in high school. Appellant discussed sexuality in his face-to-face and electronic conversations with CC. While CC admitted at trial she was flirtatious with appellant, [533]*533she specifically told him “just because you’re flirtatious doesn’t mean you want to have sex.”

More than one month after CC began her summer job with appellant’s unit, CC and appellant worked on a project that required them to make several trips from an office to a warehouse that several units shared to store equipment. On two occasions, appellant kissed CC while inside the warehouse. On the final trip to the warehouse, CC testified that appellant not only kissed her but “he kept shoving [her] hand down towards his pants ____ Then he took out his penis, and he placed [her] hand around his penis and started ejaculating [sic].” Appellant continued to Mss CC, then he put his hand in her pants and inserted his finger into her vagina. CC testified that she did not tell appellant to stop because she was confused and seared and did not know what to do. She said appellant stopped when he thought he heard someone at the warehouse door.

Later the same day, SGT Summerville instructed appellant to go to the USAMRIID basement, locate certain items of medical equipment, and report their location to him. Sergeant Summerville testified he told appellant to “account for it — it wasn’t urgent, ‘but get to it as soon as you can and just get back with me.’ ” According to CC, after appellant received these instructions, he told her he had to go to the basement to find two items for SGT Summerville. She testified she went with appellant to help look for the items, but neither of them could find the equipment. CC further testified she sat on a couch and waited while appellant continued to look for the items. After appellant’s search proved fruitless, CC told appellant they needed to go and turned toward the door to leave. Appellant then approached her from behind, turned her around, Mssed her, and engaged in forcible sodomy with her. CC related these events as follows:

[W]e started kind of drifting — like when you slow-dance — he was drifting me backwards. Next — after we were drifting, there was a table. I couldn’t see the table, my back was to it. He kind of glided me down on the table and then started — we were still Mssing, and then he pulled my pants down, and then I said, “What are you doing,” and he didn’t say anytWng, he just looked at me. Then he pulled my underwear down, and I said, “What are you doing,” and he still didn’t say anything. Then he Mnd of lifted my legs up, and that’s when he placed — I don’t know if it was before he placed Ms penis in my anus or after, but then I asked him if he had a condom. He shook his head ---- After it started going on for a little while, then I started to feel some pain, and I said, “That hurts. Stop, that hurts.” Then he slowed down for a little while. After that, he started back up and I just turned over to the side.

CC testified she was “in disbelief” about what was transpiring during the sodomy and was “really scared.” She said she was not aware that appellant planned to msert Ms penis into her anus and did not consent to this activity. She also said even though she told appellant he was hurting her and asked him to stop, appellant did not stop until “Ms head turned toward the door like he’d heard something, and that’s when he stopped.”

Subsequently, agents from the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command (CID) questioned appellant about Ms activities with CC and appellant provided two sworn statements. In the first statement, appellant deMed placmg his finger m the victim’s vagina. He also deMed that he placed her hand on Ms penis and moved her hand to begm her masturbating him.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

United States v. Specialist JACOB A. DICKERSON
Army Court of Criminal Appeals, 2025
United States v. Staff Sergeant LAWRENCE P. MUSCAT
Army Court of Criminal Appeals, 2018
United States v. Staff Sergeant CALVIN R. GIBBS
Army Court of Criminal Appeals, 2018
United States v. Sergeant JASON A. SCHNELLE
Army Court of Criminal Appeals, 2018
United States v. Sergeant MICHAEL J. PAULINO
Army Court of Criminal Appeals, 2018
United States v. Staff Sergeant HECTOR NICOLA
Army Court of Criminal Appeals, 2018
United States v. Specialist CHARLES W. WOOD
Army Court of Criminal Appeals, 2018
United States v. Specialist ANTHONY T. DAVENPORT
Army Court of Criminal Appeals, 2016
United States v. Staff Sergeant SCOTT T. SCHEMPP
Army Court of Criminal Appeals, 2016
United States v. Sergeant MARVIN R. MULLINGS
Army Court of Criminal Appeals, 2016
United States v. Specialist MICHAEL J. NORD
Army Court of Criminal Appeals, 2014
United States v. Specialist ERIC L. NORDIN
Army Court of Criminal Appeals, 2013
United States v. Private E1 DEMONE M. WHIGHAM
72 M.J. 653 (Army Court of Criminal Appeals, 2013)
United States v. Sergeant JUSTIN A. BOYLE
Army Court of Criminal Appeals, 2011
United States v. Staff Sergeant CHRISTOPHER A. BARBERI
Army Court of Criminal Appeals, 2011
United States v. Sergeant ROBERTO E. TRIGUEROS
69 M.J. 604 (Army Court of Criminal Appeals, 2010)
United States v. Private E2 CHARLES M. SAVAGE
67 M.J. 656 (Army Court of Criminal Appeals, 2009)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
64 M.J. 531, 2006 CCA LEXIS 229, 2006 WL 2728837, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-craion-acca-2006.