Senators push for answers in case of AWOL soldier convicted of rape

Two senators who have been pushing for changes to the way the military handles sexual assault cases are demanding answers from the Army after reports surfaced that a suspected rapist went AWOL for three months without anyone looking for him. 

“If accurate, this report reveals a grave breach of public trust in the military’s ability to track and apprehend dangerous criminals,” Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) wrote in a letter to acting Army Secretary Patrick Murphy on Wednesday. “We would like your assurance that a thorough and timely investigation has been initiated and that safeguards have been put in place to prevent similar events in the future.”

{mosads}At issue is a March report from The Associated Press that Army Pvt. Jameson Hazelbower went Absent Without Leave from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, after learning he was a suspect in the rape of a 15-year-old girl. 

He roamed free for three months before being caught by police by chance in March 2014, according to AP. He was apprehended in Illinois in a car with a 14-year-old girl with his pants down, the report says.

Hazelbower was later convicted by a military judge of child rape, possession of child pornography, sexual abuse of a child, desertion and other charges, and sentenced to 50 years in prison.

In their letter, Boxer and Gillibrand highlight a number of issues in the case. For one, the Army’s arrest warrant for Hazelbower was issued 32 days after he went missing, they said.

Also, the U.S. Marshals Service wasn’t alerted to look for Hazelbower, they said, because of reporting lapses between the chain of command.

The senators asked for a full account of the investigation into the handling of the case and any policies and procedures put into place to prevent something similar from occurring in the future. 

“It is deeply concerning that a known child rapist was allowed to desert his military post for three months without pursuit by law enforcement,” they wrote. “The circumstances surrounding Private Hazelbower’s case raise questions that deserve answers.”

Gillibrand and Boxer were two of the lead authors on the Military Justice Improvement Act, which would have taken military sexual assault cases outside the chain of command. The bill failed to pass the Senate last summer.