Four soldiers have been charged in an alleged sexual assault that took place in the barracks at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state last year, a spokesperson for the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel confirmed to Military.com on Thursday.
Cpl. Pedro Angel Ruiz, Pvt. 2nd Class Deron J. Gordon, Spc. Jadon Bosarge and Pfc. Kallon Curiel are accused in a sexual assault of one person that happened Oct. 27, 2024, Michelle McCaskill, the spokesperson for the special trial counsel, said in an email.
“The charges are allegations and CPL Angel Ruiz, PV2 Gordon, SPC Bosarge and PFC Curiel are presumed innocent unless proven guilty,” she added.
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No other details about the alleged assault, including the soldiers’ relationship with the victim and whether the victim was also in the military, were immediately available.
The charges were first reported by Stars and Stripes.
The four cases are at “various stages” of the legal process, McCaskill said.
Gordon has already pleaded guilty, according to the Army’s online docket for courts-martial. He was charged with 12 counts of sexual assault, two counts of sexual misconduct, two counts of attempt, one count of conspiracy, and one count of obstructing justice, according to the docket.
Angel Ruiz has been charged with one count of sexual misconduct, two counts of attempt, one count of conspiracy, and one count of obstruction, according to the docket. An arraignment was held Aug. 5, with another preliminary hearing scheduled for Sept. 26 and a trial scheduled for Nov. 3.
Curiel is facing charges of one count of sexual assault and one count of sexual assault of a child, according to the docket. His Article 32 preliminary hearing, essentially a grand jury hearing to determine whether there is enough evidence to move to trial, is scheduled for Friday.
A docket entry for Bosarge has not yet been posted online.
The Army’s Office of Special Trial Counsel, along with other services’ special trial counsel offices, were established in late 2023 to handle prosecutions of serious crimes such as sexual assault, murder and kidnapping. Congress mandated the offices as part of its efforts to eradicate sexual assault in the military.
The Pentagon’s most recent report on sexual assault in the military, released in May, found that the number of reported sexual assaults last year dropped for the second year in a row. Overall, reported sexual assaults dropped nearly 4% in 2024 compared to 2023, fueled by a 13% decrease in reported assaults in the Army.
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