Army Investigates Overseas Sexual Misconducts; Citadel Hazing Hearings Begin

Following allegations of widespread sexual harassment on a German Army base, the Army is examining how widespread sex crimes are at bases in Western Europe and Bosnia. The allegations at the training center in Darmstadt, Germany included rape, sodomy and cruelty. The Army has relieved the commander of the training base of his duties because of the allegations that three of his instructors sexually assaulted or harassed female trainees. At least some of the alleged incidents occurred after the Aberdeen sex scandal case broke.

In South Carolina, disciplinary hearings for 10 men who allegedly harassed, hazed and assaulted two female cadets at the Citadel have been scheduled for Saturday, February 22. Resembling individual courts-martial, the administrative hearings will be secrective, held before a three-person board. One of the original 12 male cadets originally implicated in the harassment of Jeanie Mentavlos and Kim Messer resigned while another did not return for spring semester. Both Mentavlos and Messer have left the military college.

Media Resources: The Nando Net - February 21, 1997; USA Today - February 20, 1997

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