On Saturday, January 23, 2016, West Point Cadet Lukas Saul was acquitted of sexually assaulting a fellow cadet, with whom he had been in a dating relationship since their Plebe (1st) year at West Point. According to news reports, the incident(s) happened in 2012.
Lieutenant Colonel Chris Kasker, West Point’s director of public affairs, said in a statement released following the verdict. “West Point takes all allegations very seriously, in this particular case, a court-martial was held to find the truth, and the panel has determined Cadet Saul is innocent of all charges. All the facts were presented in a full and open hearing and the issue was resolved in a manner consistent with military law and due process requirements.” [1]
Saul had been on administrative leave since last August and did not graduate with his class last year while his accuser was allowed to graduate and has since been commissioned as a Second Lieutenant.
According to various news reports, Cadet Saul had been in a dating relationship with the accuser for approximately 17 months, and these incidents happened during the relationship.
Apparently, the accuser was upset as Cadet Saul began engaging in oral sex with her while they had been sleeping together, and she had told him to stop. Major Jenny Schlack, for the prosecution, described Saul as a Jekyll and Hyde type, with a darker side he showed behind closed doors.
We all remember Major Jenny Schlack. She was the former Fort Campbell JAG Defense Attorney, then turned prosecutor who was involved in the case of Major Christian “Kit” Martin. On July 13, 2015, Paul Elam gave an update on Major Martin’s case including the efforts of the National Coalition for Men on his behalf. In a confidential manner and as a co-worker, Major Martin discussed his case with her. However, Major Jenny seemingly forgot to tell him that she was now a prosecutor. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think that is called; FRAUD.
In that post, a screenshot of a Facebook post by Major Jenny Schlack was captured and is contained in the article. Essentially Major Jenny took it upon herself to send a Facebook message to Senator Kristin Gillibrand; by far one of the most dangerous individuals for military males since Usama Bin Laden, where she complained about the railroading of military males for sexual assault.
As far as we know, Major Jenny has never been disciplined for this disrespectful message to a sitting U.S. Senator. Apparently, she is now a Special Victim Prosecutor at Fort Drum New York. On one hand she complains about the current witch hunt culture, on the other hand, she continues to push forward with the witch hunt.
Under cross-examination, Saul’s Defense Attorney Gil Spencer got the accuser to admit; with a straight face, that she and Saul were in bed one night, having consensual sex. She said that they both fell asleep, and she woke in the night to find Saul was performing oral sex on her, and she asked him to stop. Apparently he didn’t tap her on the shoulder to ask for permission first, and thus she concluded that he was guilty of “inappropriate” behavior. [2]
An attorney familiar with the case who wished to remain anonymous stated that the “word on the street” was that Saul’s accuser made the allegations after he dumped her.
Saul testified in his defense and claimed that he was not in his accuser’s hometown during the time that she made the allegation. He admitted to having oral sex with her but said it occurred a month earlier. One of Saul’s defense attorneys; Larry Gwaltney sought to use social media messages exchanged by the two toward the end of that 69-day period to show she still appeared to be in love with Saul at that point. Prosecutors objected, saying it was hearsay evidence. [3]
Can you imagine that? Text messages proving, or, at least, showing that the accuser was still in love with Saul during the time the allegations, and the prosecution attempting to exclude those from evidence? Social media posts that prove innocence and the prosecution wants them suppressed??? WTF???
That little stunt flies in the face of West Point Spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Chris Kasker said in his carefully worded statement that the court-martial was convened to find the truth. There was no attempt to find the truth; the only thing that was done was to do everything and anything possible to convict.
Another thing. Why was it necessary for the defense attorney to introduce text message evidence? Shouldn’t that have been done before the case went to court-martial? Why didn’t the CID obtain that evidence as part of their investigative effort?
I’ll tell you why. Because in today’s day and age, the military has no desire to find the truth when it comes to allegations of sexual assault. Any investigation is done for the sole purpose to convict. Cadet Saul’s case is not the first case where text messages proved his innocence and not the first case where the prosecution never attempted to get them in the first place. Why, because it is evidence of his innocence. The military is not interested in evidence of innocence; conviction heads on a platter is the mission.
Former Army JAG Attorney Kyle Fischer; now in private practice in Columbus Georgia discussed the issue of evidence in military sexual assault cases on the caaflog.com; in essence, the attempts by military prosecutors to prevent the truth from being brought forward in a court-martial.
“Another paradigm shift is that the Defense is more likely to be the one fighting to admit relevant evidence for the panel to see and hear, and the Government is now more likely to be fighting to keep it out. It is a complete role reversal in the search for the truth.” [4]
Former Army JAG Special Victims Prosecutor Jocelyn Stewart; now in private practice in the State of Washington, who now specializes in defending military sexual assault cases, states that one of the reasons she left the service was due to the fact that she could see where this sexual assault issue was headed and stated that current climate; “scares me.”
Former Air Force JAG Attorney Katie Cherkasky who was selected to be the first Air Force Special Victims’ Counsel, now in private practice stated:
“In this position, I learned exactly the extent to which the military will go to destroy a person accused of sexual assault and protect at all costs the accusers, no matter how weak or obnoxious the facts of the case.” [5]
Still not to be outdone, some military commanders have ordered accused soldiers NOT to conduct an investigation into their defense which extended to their attorneys, investigators and any others doing an investigative work or effort on their behalf.
Recently retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Jay Morse, a JAG attorney and head of the Special Victim Counsel program was accused of groping a female lawyer while attending a conference for Special Victim attorneys. The only problem was that she levied the accusation nearly three years after the incident.
When he learned of the accusation, LTC Morse retained legal counsel who then began an immediate investigation. He was called in before his commander and handed a “Cease and Desist” order preventing him and his legal team from conducting an investigation.
That issue was immediately brought before the Army Court of Appeals and in a swift, three-day turnaround, the appeals court ruled in his favor and ordered the illegal order invalid. Go to the link for the PDF document.
The website, Military Corruption dot com, who has “snitches” or insiders at virtually all military bases in the world, and has the ability to obtain information that few military blogs can get, eviscerated the accuser calling her “a fraudster” and “a lying bitch.” They have called for the accuser to be court-martialed for violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice to include, Article 107, Making a False Official Statement and Article 131, Perjury.
Apparently the accuser’s lies were so blatant that even the uber-politically correct Army had to find Saul not guilty.
Let’s hope the Army does the right thing and commissions Cadet Saul as a Second Lieutenant with all back pay and allowances, and allow him to proceed with his career. Even if that does happen, his career will forever be negatively affected; he will probably be released from the Army after serving his six-year obligation, and will forever have that stigma around his neck wherever he goes.
For military males; they are working in the most hostile work environment in the country. Not only do they have to worry about deployments, getting killed in a combat zone, they also risk being court-martialed, and spending 20-30 years in Leavenworth for dumping a vengeful girlfriend or asking for a divorce from an unfaithful wife.
The reality is that once a military male is accused, there is no attempt by investigators and prosecutors to find the truth. Once the accusation is levied, that is all that is needed to launch an all-out effort to get a conviction by any means necessary. Coaching accusers to lie is the norm and suppression of evidence of innocence is the norm.
These travesties of military justice are primarily at the hands of Senators Gillibrand, Ayotte, and McCaskill. I hope these senators and others who facilitate such travesties are happy. These senators and others in Congress have turned the military justice system involving allegations of sexual assault into a “kangaroo” court, just like we have seen on our college campuses with the Department of Education’s “Dear Colleague” letter.
Look what a fantastic success that has been. NOT!!!
In the case of Cadet Lukas Saul, the unquenchable thirst for conviction blood has terrified another innocent young man, cost him tens of thousands of dollars, and put a label around his neck forever. If he ever does receive his commission, he will be stigmatized, be given bad evaluation reports, will be denied training assignments and duty stations, and likely will never be able to retire due to the cutbacks. And he was ACQUITTED!
I would ask that these senators; if that is what you would call them, would take the suggestion of what Military Corruption dot com is asking for, and demand an investigation and court-martial of Cadet Saul’s lying accuser, kick her out of the Army, and make her reimburse Cadet Saul and the taxpayers for this waste.
Yeah right. That will happen as soon as monkeys start flying out of my ass.
I highly recommend that military males reading this post, go to the links and see that there are some exceptional attorneys out there, and many are just as exasperated as many others, at the level of lunacy in the U.S. Military, and their handling of sexual assault cases. Military males need to educate themselves about the dangers they face, and the cold hard reality that if they are accused, their lives and their family and friend’s lives will forever be affected. It is a virtual certainty that if a military male is accused, facts and truth be damned, he is going to court-martial.
What are we doing to our military? The cutbacks, the weakening, the social engineering, the evisceration of morale, the absurd rules of engagement that are getting our troops killed, the lowering of standards to force women into combat positions, the VA scandal, and the lunacy of sexual assault persecutions when they are not warranted.
Where are our elected leaders on this issue? They need to read this post and have their staffers conduct some research on the reality of what is going on at our military bases. Our elected leaders can no longer turn their backs on this issue for fear of being labeled anti-woman. Our elected leaders need to crawl out from under their desks on this issue and grow a pair. Our cowardly compliant military commanders who facilitate this false narrative need to leave. The military prosecutors pushing for convictions when the facts are absent need to surrender their law licenses, and the general public and especially our military males; and yes, some females need to educate themselves.
This should be a NATIONAL OUTRAGE!
References/Links:
[1] West Point cadet acquitted of sexual assault | ucmjdefense.com (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ucmjdefense.com/west-point-cadet-acquitted-of-sexual-assault.html
[2] MIRACLE ON THE HUDSON | militarycorruption.com (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.militarycorruption.com/lukassaul.htm
[3] Cadet denies sex assault claims – News – recordonline.com … (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.recordonline.com/article/20160121/NEWS/160129835/101029/NEWS”>http://www.recordonline.com/article/20160121/NEWS/160129835/101029/NEWS
[4] CAAFlog » Military justice provisions in the draft FY16 NDAA. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.caaflog.com/2015/06/30/military-justice-provisions-in-the-draft-fy16-ndaa/
[5] Katie Cherkasky Biography | Your Best Military Defense Lawyer. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.bestmilitarydefense.com/biographies/katie-cherkasky-biography/
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_29410391/accuser-says-she-told-west-point-cadet-sex
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_29410391/accuser-says-she-told-west-point-cadet-sex
http://bobmccarty.com/category/military-justice/major-kit-martin/
