Alleged rape by colonel detailed at Article 32

[unhappycamper]

Alleged rape by colonel detailed at Article 32
By Patrick Winn - Staff Writer
Posted : Monday Feb 11, 2008 21:08:10 EST

SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas — Air Force prosecutors charging a senior officer with a string of thefts and sex crimes — including the alleged rape of a civilian office worker in plain view of an office hallway — revealed more of their case in a judicial hearing Monday.

Col. Samuel Lofton III, relieved last May from commanding the 82nd Training Group, is accused of rape, stealing more than $10,000 from the Air Force, four counts of sexual assault, two counts of dereliction of duty and absence without leave. An Article 32 hearing, which began Monday, will determine whether he stands trial for the crimes that allegedly began in late 2005 and continued until spring of 2007.

Attorneys cross-examined two women accusing Lofton of sex crimes. Both of them are civilian Air Force employees — one of them an employee of more than 30 years — and both worked in the same building as Lofton. The Air Force Times does not name alleged victims of sexual assault.

In each alleged sexual assault scenario, Lofton approached the women one-on-one after most of the other workers had left, started with small talk and then placed one of their hands on his trousers, where they felt his erect penis.

One of his alleged victims told Air Force attorneys and an investigating officer that she saw Lofton behind a partition on April 5, 2007, as she was leaving her office. He rounded the side and she saw his erect penis poking through his Battle Dress Uniform trouser buttonhole, the woman said.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/02/airforce_lofton_080211/