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Insufficient Evidence Soldiers Won't be Charged in Alleged Sex Assault but Military Probe Continues

Sexual assault in the U.S. military From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_assault_in_the_U.S._military

By KIM BRADLEY
Staff Writer Edmonton Sun
June 20, 1998

Two soldiers accused of sexually assaulting a woman at Edmonton Garrison last month will not be charged by city cops. But military spokesman Maj.

Doug Martin said just because no criminal charges will be laid doesn't mean the soldiers are "out of the woods yet." Suspended from duty The men remain suspended from duty until the military's national investigation service has concluded its own probe, Martin said. "The investigation is continuing to determine if any administrative or disciplinary procedures were violated," he said. The men were suspended after a 17-year-old woman told a police officer at her school that she had been sexually assaulted at the base by two soldiers May 31. Police concluded the woman, her 21-year-old boyfriend and an 18-year-old woman went to the Lancaster Barracks on the base with three soldiers that day.

Further investigation showed the woman was fondled. Following the probe, cops and the national investigation service sent the file for review to the Crown prosecutors office. They all agreed there wasn't enough evidence to warrant charges and the case was closed. The names of the soldiers were not released. Martin said it could take weeks before the military concludes its investigation. The soldiers' fate depends on what charges are laid, if any, he added.

Meanwhile, Cpl. Marcel Pare, a 36-year-old soldier charged with sexual assaulting a male soldier, was suspended from duty with pay yesterday. Pare told The Sun in a brief interview that RCMP seized items from his home Wednesday, including videotapes, while they executed a search warrant.

"A number of items were seized but I can't say what they were because they are currently being reviewed," said Morinville RCMP Staff Sgt. Paul Hurl.

"It's a sensitive issue being a military male-on-male."

Another Edmonton soldier, accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl and assaulting a 30-year-old woman with a weapon, pleaded not guilty to the charges yesterday. In uniform Dressed in uniform, Pte. Grant Winkler, 20, appeared briefly with his lawyer in provincial court in Edmonton to enter his plea and set a date for a preliminary hearing. The soldier was charged with sexual assault, assault with a weapon and uttering threats after a complaint about an incident at the base was made to police May 28. Winkler, a member of the First Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, will be back in court Jan. 5, 1999, for a preliminary hearing.