BY MEGAN ARNEY
A military jury found Staff Sgt. Delmar Simpson guilty on April 29 of 18 rape charges involving six female trainees. Simpson was also found guilty of 47 counts of assault, including 10 incidents of indecent assault. Simpson had been charged with 19 counts of rape and 39 other sexual offenses.

Widespread charges of sexual abuse at the U.S. Army's Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland surfaced last November, setting off a major scandal in the armed forces. Twelve soldiers were charged with crimes ranging from rape to assault and adultery. So far, at least 50 women have made official complaints of sexual abuse at Aberdeen, including 27 rape complaints. Currently, the Army is investigating 313 cases there and at other institutions. Simpson's case is the first conviction on rape charges at Aberdeen.

The NAACP has called for an independent investigation into the allegations, charging the Army with unfairly targeting Blacks for prosecution. Of the 12 male soldiers accused of sexually assaulting female soldiers under their command, all are Black. In March, five female soldiers, all of them white, told the press that Army investigators at Aberdeen had pressured them into falsely accusing their superiors of rape.

The prosecution introduced no physical evidence in making its case against Simpson. Under military law, sexual relations between soldiers of different ranks brings a court martial - with a dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and benefits, and prison time. Simpson already faces 32 years for admitting to consensual sex with 11 trainees.

According to military law, because of the unequal relationship in the armed forces, what is known as "constructive force" is sufficient to prove rape. This "constructive force" is when "a reasonable belief in the victim's mind that death or physical injury would be inflicted on her and resistance is futile."

Simpson was convicted by a military jury of one female and five males superiors, including two colonels, a lieutenant colonel, and a captain. Unlike in a civilian court, this jury did not have to reach a unanimous verdict to find Simpson guilty; a two-thirds majority was sufficient. In sentencing, which Simpson faces on May 5, three-fourths of the jury must approve any sentence of more than 10 years. A conviction and sentence in a crime of rape can carry a life sentence.

Opponents of women in the military, including those in Congress, have used the case to argue for restoring sex- segregation. Some 14 percent of the U.S. armed forces are women.  
 
 
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