National Guard soldier killed herself after being gang-raped by colleagues

[Ooh-Rah]

Filed under "US Military still needs to get its fucking house in order".

National Guard soldier killed herself after being gang-raped by colleagues: mom

But when Morgan reported the attacks, higher-ups did “nothing” to punish the supervisor or protect her, according to her mother.

While on the same deployment, Robinson was then sent to Afghanistan, where multiple soldiers allegedly gang-raped her, CBS reports. This time, she was too scared and disillusioned by the system to report it — and four months later, she committed suicide.

The Army began an investigation into her untimely death and later handed Debbie a report — but much of it was redacted.

The parts that weren’t blacked out said: “Sergeant Robinson suffered sexual, physical, and psychological trauma while deployed. The sequel of this trauma was a factor in her death,” according to CBS.

 

[Cookie_]

Eight months after her death, the officer who allegedly attacked her in Kuwait was finally given a written reprimand — which Debbie said is too little, too late.

She was first assaulted in 2016. She died in 2018. This asshole got a reprimand in April, 2019.

THREE. FUCKING. YEARS?

All for a damn reprimand?

Shit like this is why I sadly gotta tell my soldiers "If something happens, call the cops first, because I can't trust the army to protect you."

We need to remove the ability for command to investigate accusations of harrasment and assualt through a 15-6. To often does the investigating officer just sweep things aside either due to incompetence, politics, or simply protecting the accused.

 

[Grunt]

This makes me extremely mad -- and then extremely sad! I wish I could have been there for her and caused that sac of pus some great bodily injury!

 

[Diamondback 2/2]

One of the biggest problems with National Guard leadership, is that they either go full retard basic training style follow the rules, or they toss the rules out the window and do their own thing. Very little middle ground in my personal experience.

Leadership failed this soldier and should be held accountable.

I 100% agree that sexual assault should be completely outside of the chain of command for investigation and prosecution. That doesn't really work well forward deployed, but it too easy to remove victims and or offenders to a FOB or out of theater to accommodate.

That said, I want to see 100% prosecution for false allegations as well. As sad as it is, it's become too easy to make accusations without evidence, leading to these sorts of problems.

Bottom line, a better system needs to exist, and prosecution needs to work both ways. Offenders should have the max penalty, false accuser's should face max penalties.

$.02

 

[Marauder06]

Terrible story.

 

[Kraut783]

Me and many Army CID guys have been yelling for awhile now....take the command control away from any Felony offenses in the military. Make it like the civilian world...a lot of the military problems like above would go away.

 

[AWP]

Someone doesn't just fall into a gang rape or other major crimes, there were indicators along the way. Sadly, we chalk these up to a variety of reasons and then act SHOCKED when a major crime occurs.

Bet a dollar if you dug into their histories, the "accused" will have a pattern of poor behavior leading to violence. You don't just wake up and fall into a gang rape.

 

[Blizzard]

Infuriating story.

 

[pardus]

Absolutely disgusting!

 

[Teufel]

Me and many Army CID guys have been yelling for awhile now....take the command control away from any Felony offenses in the military. Make it like the civilian world...a lot of the military problems like above would go away.

I can't speak for the Army but in the Navy/Marine Corps all incidents involving theft, fraud, arson, missing persons, sexual assault, and any other violation of the UCMJ that is punishable by more than one year of confinement must be referred to NCIS for investigation. NCIS may decline to investigate, or legal may decline to prosecute, because of the circumstances and evidence. At this point the command can still pursue non-judicial punishment because the evidentiary requirements are different at that level. I suspect that is what may have happened here. It can be very hard to convince a jury that a sexual assault happened in some situations because the only witnesses may be the victim and the accused. It gets harder the more time passes between the report and the assault. The defense attorney has many tools to attack the victim's credibility unfortunately. This isn't just reality in the military mind you, it happens in civilian courts as well but you don't hear about it as much. I'm not defending what happened by any means, just trying to explain how someone ends up with a reprimand after three years of investigation. Now CID and the command may also have dropped the ball on getting the investigation going or not done a good enough job getting the facts together. It's hard to say without more information. In any case her command and her fellow soldiers let her down. This is a sad and tragic case that should never have happened.

 

[DA SWO]

NCIS,CID, and OSI are all incompetent. FWIW-I ranked them worst to least incompetent.

 

[Kraut783]

CID is still military and the commanding General for CID is both the MP and CID commander, it's a One Star billet currently filled by a Colonel....hence the problem...it has NO power and no autonomy.

JAG is a joke, they work for the individual unit commander.

CID fails because it's command fails....you lose good agents because they are frustrated and can't do their job...all you have left are the bad agents or the agents that don't care and just want to do their time.

If you are serious about investigating crime in the military, you have to take away command influence....you have to become more like state law enforcement, meaning the police investigate, get search warrants, arrest warrants, arrest the suspect...THEN file the case with the prosecution. You do not give the prosecution the ability to control your case from the beginning.

But, I have said this before.....

 

[AWP]

My one experience w/ OSI guaranteed I'll never speak to the police again.

 

[Gunz]

...If you are serious about investigating crime in the military, you have to take away command influence....

Probably never happen. CMC Amos was meddling with the case against the Scout/Snipers who pissed on the dead Taliban. That's influence from the very top of the chain. His UCI was eventually confirmed...but it took five years for Joe Chamblin to have his conviction overturned.

 

[Kraut783]

At one point circa 2008, Army CID started expanding their civilian CID agent program and making sexual assault investigation units. There was some excitement from the line agents, hoping this was a change for the better, having 1811's working cases and not having to deal with commanders. Well, nope....the civilian 1811's still had to answer to the military chain at whatever CID unit they were assigned to.....it was a total failure...

and Gunz, your right, it will never happen....Command does not like not being in control. NCIS had the best chance of doing it at it's infancy....but...didn't happen.

 

[compforce]

NCIS had the best chance of doing it at it's infancy....but...didn't happen.

But....but...Gibbs...

 

[compforce]

To be clear I was making fun of NCIS.

This whole situation is disgusting. Anyone that would rape someone else deserves castration and anyone that falsely accuses someone of rape deserves the same.