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A WAR ON MEN… IN THE MILITARY?
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HE WENT TO WEST POINT…
HE WAS FALSELY ACCUSED…
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NOW HE’S WORKING TO PROTECT OTHERS FROM BEING FALSELY ACCUSED…
MILITARY/LEGAL EXPERT: Trent Cromartie, is the Director of the Title IX Equity Project at (SAVE) Stop Abusive and Violent Environments.
Find Out About Trent Cromartie’s Experience at West Point…
My experience began in July of 2011 while at field training near West Point, NY. Our class had just returned from a multi-day field training exercise (FTX) so we were all sleep deprived, dehydrated, and hungry. Soon after returning from our FTX, I was informed that I needed to report to the military police station. Upon arriving at the station, I was searched and placed in an interrogation room without being told what was happening.
Eventually, an agent arrived and informed me that I was being investigated for sexual assault. I was then subjected to a 5-hour interrogation in my weakened state. I believe the timing of my interrogation was intentional. The agent questioning me was probationary. The agent failed to record my interview, did not allow me to type my statement, inserted his own language in my statement, appeared very hostile, and destroyed the original version of my statement. Most of these actions are against the agency’s policy.
Following my initial interrogation, I endured a grueling 2 year investigation that culminated in a general court martial where I was facing essentially life in prison. My investigation was riddled with injustices. Listed below are just a few of those injustices:
(1) The superintendent of West Point, who was the convening authority for my investigation, was under his own misconduct investigation while presiding over my case. This coupled with political pressure from Senator Gillibrand and the Dear Colleague Letter made the superintendent a biased actor.
(2) The commandant of West Point, second in command at the Academy, graduated with my accuser’s father. West Point classes are notoriously tight knit. My accuser’s father even mailed a letter to the commandant’s home and urged him to convict me. The accuser’s father called me a “rapist” and used other strong language. A few days after receiving this letter, the commandant had a meeting with my accuser to check on her wellbeing.
(3) Throughout my investigation, the Academy offered me resignation in lieu of (RILO). They essentially informed me that, if I quit and leave the Academy, they would drop all charges.
(4) My accuser had accused multiple cadets prior to me. We were not informed of this.
(5) Upon initiating my investigation, I was “flagged” by the Academy. This means that I could no leave the campus for an extended period and I was treated differently from my classmates. I missed holidays and was restricted for many weekends because of this.
(6) There was clear evidence of undue command influence. Specifically, my company commander was instructed not to write a letter of support for me by his superior officer.
After a 3 day trial, I was found innocent of all the sexual charges but found guilty of a false official statement for correcting a single detail from my original interrogation. I then had to endure a misconduct hearing where an officer investigated and provided a recommendation to the superintendent regarding my court martial conviction. At the end of the hearing, the misconduct officer recommended that I be “retained with no further punishment.” The superintendent disregarded this and separated me from the Academy the summer going into my senior year.
Although my investigation ended in June 2013, the effects of the investigation lasted far beyond the parameters of my case. I battled severe depression and even suicidal ideations for years after my investigation.
What is the Affect on True Victims?
False accusations not only affect the accused but also actual victims. In fact, the only individual benefitting from a false accusation is the false accuser. Not only do false accusers essentially fabricate their experiences based on the suffering of actual victims, they also discredit the legitimacy of sexual assault claims in general. False accusations establish a culture of distrust and generate animosity in our society. While I don’t know of any specific stories of actual victims being explicitly harmed by a false accusation, it’s my opinion that the effect is well-recognized in our society.
There are plenty of falsely accused individuals who hold a similar perspective. Specifically, the Duke lacrosse players, after the conclusion of their investigation, have openly proclaimed that the accuser’s false accusation harmed actual victims more than it harmed them.
SAVE HAS SOLUTIONS
(1) Definitions of offenses need to be specific and require the production of corroborating evidence.
(2) Complainants should not be referred to as “victims” until an accused is adjudicated as committing a offense.
(3) Investigations must be balanced and fair, which cannot occur with “victim-centered” or “Start By Believing” investigations.
(4) Complainants should not be given incentives to make false allegations, such as priority treatment by immigration officials, special academic treatment, etc., especially when there is no requirement to provide objective evidence of abuse.
(5) The greater the severity of the allegation, the more due process protections need to be in place.
(6) Sanctions or punishments should not be imposed on the accused without objective corroborative evidence.
(7) Persons who have made false allegations should be held accountable, based on clear and convincing evidence.
10% OF PEOPLE HAVE BEEN FALSELY ACCUSED?
READ: www.saveservices.org/dv/falsely-accused/survey/
WSJ PIECE: www.wsj.com/articles/a-strange-sort-of-justice-at-west-point-1376453937
ABOUT: Victims are being turned away, the innocent are being falsely accused, and families are being harmed. At the heart of the problem is a system that is based more on ideology than science or common sense. The system is not victim-centered, and it has created broad definitions, weakened due process, and removed the presumption of innocence. SAVE — Stop Abusive and Violent Environments — is working for effective and fair solutions to sexual assault and domestic violence. SAVE partners with the Center for Prosecutor Integrity on selected projects involving the criminal justice system.
WEBSITE: www.saveservices.org
TWITTER: @SAVEservicesorg
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