# USAF Officer Gets 50 Years for Raping Men



## CougarKing (1 Mar 2007)

Life nowadays just keeps getting weirder and weirder...  Talk about appalling. At least he's behind bars...

http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,126982,00.html?wh=wh



> AF Officer Gets 50 Years for Raping Men
> Associated Press  |  March 01, 2007
> EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - A military jury ignored an Air Force captain's plea for leniency Wednesday, sentencing him to 50 years in prison for raping four men and attempting to rape two others.
> 
> ...


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## JR84 (1 Mar 2007)

I am glad they gave him 50 years, and that he will be behind bars for at least 20 years.


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## Shamrock (1 Mar 2007)

Depending on where he gets sent, this could be one of the few cases where the punishment fits the crime.


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## gaspasser (1 Mar 2007)

> Taylor had testified that he had consensual sex with five of the men and that the sixth, who is openly gay, raped him. His attorney said the men lied to protect their military careers.



I'll play devils advocate here.  
The US policy of "Don't ask, don't tell" is the most neandertholic policy ever.  IIHO, the US should get rid of the "No gays in the military" policy and join the rest of the 21st Century.  We have openly gay and lesbian members and it doesn't bother me in the least.  I've also witnessed many members lie like a rug just to save their military careers.  
I feel for this guy who took a fall for his personal preferences and helped save a bunch of career minded, spineless wimps.
My 0.02


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## vonGarvin (1 Mar 2007)

Devil's advocate here:
What would your opinion be if he had been convicted of raping 5 women, and he claimed that the sex was consensual, but that they were "all out to get me".  This guy was using smoke and mirrors in an attempt to deflect from his crime (remember, he was convicted, no "alleged" here).
The policy of homosexuals in the military has as much to do with this case as my hair colour does.


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## Yrys (1 Mar 2007)

What is the probabilities that 6 men would ALL say :
''I've been raped'' ? Stigma as a raped man is
nothing I could see someone wanting.


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## vonGarvin (1 Mar 2007)

Yrys said:
			
		

> What is the probabilities that 6 men would ALL say :
> ''I've been raped'' ? Stigma as a raped man is
> nothing I could see someone wanting.


SO true and well said.  To excuse this bastard for what he did would be an insult.  Next subject, please.


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## Quag (1 Mar 2007)

Sick man.  The problem with this is the generalizations that the public can make.  Its all to easy....


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## armyvern (1 Mar 2007)

Rape isn't about sexual preference anyway. It's about being in 'control.'

I'd highly suggest that all rape victims suffer trauma and stigma. Perhaps they may experience more if raped by a member of the same sex. But the facts are that many rape victims of both sexes are loathe to speak out because of many factors, including religious stigmatism (muslim women for example), or feelings of a perceived 'personal' responsibility for the attack. 

There will always be those who make false allegations of rape, but I'd argue that the coming forward of victims, or not, is not dependant upon their sex or the sex of their rapist; but rather how their own psyche allows them to deal with that trauma.

End result? To quote Yrys (with edits...)



> What is the probabilities that 6 men women would ALL say :
> ''I've been raped'' ? Stigma as a raped man woman is
> nothing I could see someone wanting.



Neither male nor female wants to be stigmatized as a "rape victim." The truthfullness of the account shouldn't be based on their sex, their rapists' sex, or the quantity of victims the rapist is accused of assulting, nor upon any of their occupations. To merit the worthiness of the rape allegations on anything other than the _facts of the alleged rape itself _ only serves to reinforce the stereotype that the victims themselves are somehow personally responsible and to keep more of them silent.

A rapist desires to be in control, regardless of his victims sex. A rape victim is exactly that, regardless of their rapists' sex.


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## Shamrock (1 Mar 2007)

BYT Driver said:
			
		

> I feel for this guy who took a fall for his personal preferences and helped save a bunch of career minded, spineless wimps.





So, you'd go out for a few stiff drinks with this guy?


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## a78jumper (1 Mar 2007)

Shamrock said:
			
		

> Depending on where he gets sent, this could be one of the few cases where the punishment fits the crime.



Edited to remove slanderous post.

The Army.ca Staff


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## FredDaHead (1 Mar 2007)

Vern,

I'm going to go ahead and disagree. The stigma of being an abused man is much, much greater than that of being an abused woman. There is also infinitely less help for abused men than there is for women. While I do agree it's terrible for anyone to be raped by anyone else, regardless of the victim's or criminal's sex or sexual orientation, I'd say it's worse--in it's after-effects at the very least--for men. Abused men have to deal with their own societally-conditionned self-abuse, the increased exterior shame of being a man who has been raped, and the utter lack of any kind of specialized support.

I'm not trying to minimalize the plight of abused women, but I will not accept that their plight is equal to that of abused men.


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## vonGarvin (1 Mar 2007)

All: before we pull out the "a crime to my gender is worse than a crime to your gender" argument, remember one thing: victims are victims, and let's let it be at that.

In other words, a collective breath for one and all and revisit this tomorrow, if at all...


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## Michael OLeary (1 Mar 2007)

Frederik G said:
			
		

> I'm not trying to minimalize the plight of abused women, but I will not accept that their plight is equal to that of abused men.



Fred, I think you are confusing differences in society's levels of recognition of problems and resources available to victims; neither of which make the victimization/"plight" of one gender "greater" or "less" than the other.

Take care, lest you be branded with exactly the stereotyping your remark presumed to ward off.


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## armyvern (1 Mar 2007)

Fred G,

I will grant you the point that there are more services/facilities for abused women available and promoted than those for abused men. IE shelters for abused women etc.

However, please do not confuse abuse victims with victims of rape. They are not the same.

Services for rape victims are listed in the front of every phone book along with rape crises hotlines. These services for victims of rape are indeed available for victims of BOTH genders, and are staffed by both sexes as well. A male rape victim calling the rape crises centre or hotline would not be turned away from it's services and would receive the very same services that a female victim of rape would receive.

I just needed to clarify that difference.


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## ArmyRick (1 Mar 2007)

I have my own opinion about this creep. Castrate him. He is a rapist, simple as that.


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## tomahawk6 (1 Mar 2007)

A complete disgrace to himself and the USAF.I did have to smile at one of his charges though "unlawful entry".


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## orange.paint (1 Mar 2007)

50 years locked away with hundreds of vehement,lonely men.Is that really a punishment?
Do we put child molesters in school's as punishment?No.So why put a predator of sorts into a system where he can manipulate more people?

I agree with castration.Every sexual predator should have it removed.Or shoot it on parade.Sort of like teddy....man that would be a sweet parade.

But in all seriousness would you have let this go if it happened to yourself?That's what gun's,knifes,swords and napalm would have been used for.I think in this circumstance a man would walk after eliminating this freak.

It reminds me of a story of a Brit soldier(male) that got raped in Bosnia by two Dutch(also male).Never did hear much on it after.


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## a78jumper (2 Mar 2007)

a78jumper said:
			
		

> Edited to remove slanderous post.
> 
> The Army.ca Staff



It was not slander; the court martial happened in Petawawa in 1995, and like OJ, just because the person was not found guilty, does not mean the incident did not happen. Rape is a very serious allegation, and I can assure all this DID happen in the Canadian Forces in Bosnia in March 1995.


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## the 48th regulator (2 Mar 2007)

Have you gone forward with your evidence to the Military Police.  You assure us that it happened, therefore you must have clear evidence that would overturn the Judgement.

If not, then it is slanderous.

dileas

tess


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## armyvern (2 Mar 2007)

a78jumper said:
			
		

> It was not slander; the court martial happened in Petawawa in 1995, and like OJ, just because the person was not found guilty, does not mean the incident did not happen. Rape is a very serious allegation, and I can assure all this DID happen in the Canadian Forces in Bosnia in March 1995.



a78jumper,

Your post did not just refer to allegations of Bosnia, of which, as you point out he was found NOT guilty. You also alluded to some very serious allegations regarding other items. That is slanderous and thus why your post was edited to full deletion by me.

As per the e-mail that you recd to notify you of your verbal warning, you can PM Mr. Mike Bobbitt if you disagree. I can asure you that he has been provided with a full copy of your original, and now deleted, post.

The Army.ca Staff


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