5 tenth Mountain troopers at Fort Johnson, Louisiana, are dealing with expenses tied to allegations that they collectively drugged and raped three girls in two separate cases.
Pfc. Franz Robert Camentil, 20; Spc. John Paul Bianzon, 29; Pfc. Ajjashery Jalnaiz Flores, 24; Pfc. Frinz Deivhid Ramit, 19; and Spc. Cyrus Moises Ranada Labial, 24, have been arrested in November and charged with the first-degree rapes of two girls, in line with cost sheets reviewed by Navy.com. The group is now dealing with further expenses for a separate alleged rape in September 2022.
All soldiers, the 5 are assigned to the third Brigade Fight Group of the tenth Mountain Division at Fort Johnson, beforehand generally known as Fort Polk. They’re being held in pretrial confinement, in line with court docket data, and weren’t instantly out there for remark.
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Flores is dealing with further expenses that he recorded and distributed tape of the assault in November 2022, whereas Camentil is accused of taking pictures, court docket data present. Labial is charged with taking pictures of the September assault and distributing these pictures. Ramit is accused of recording and likewise distributing the recording of that very same assault.
Within the November assault, authorities say one of many two girls attacked was “acquainted” with one of many troopers who confirmed up at her Rosepine, Louisiana, house simply outdoors of Fort Johnson. That girl informed police she did not know the opposite 4 troopers who arrived. The 2 girls reported they started to really feel unwell rapidly after ingesting with the troopers and felt exaggerated impacts of intoxication.
All of the troopers have pleaded not responsible, and most have trials set to start this November, with proceedings more likely to stretch into 2024.
Sexual assault within the miltary has more and more grow to be a serious challenge within the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill previously twenty years. President Joe Biden in July signed an govt order implementing sweeping army justice reforms, together with limiting the facility commanders have over whether or not to pursue a case in opposition to accused assailants. As a substitute, impartial army prosecutors will deal with circumstances.
Final 12 months, there have been 7,378 experiences of sexual assault in opposition to service members, in line with Pentagon knowledge, about 100 greater than in 2021. It is unclear whether or not the inflation is tied to victims being extra comfy reporting assaults given consideration to the problem from the army companies or if crimes are rising.
Fort Johnson has seen a sequence of sex-related crimes this 12 months.
In June, Lt. Col. Jon-Paul Depreo was sentenced to 2 months in jail after pleading responsible to at least one rely of assault and one other rely of conduct unbecoming an officer after groping one other soldier. Depreo served as commander of the forty sixth Engineer Battalion.
Moreover, that very same battalion’s former high enlisted chief, Command Sgt. Maj. Jeremy Compton, pleaded responsible in June to distributing baby pornography and was sentenced to twenty months in jail.
In January, Pvt. Tyler Davis, 23, a Fort Johnson soldier, pleaded responsible to 13 counts of rape that concerned at the very least three victims, together with a toddler. Investigators additionally found Davis recorded three movies of the kid abuse. He was sentenced to 42 years in jail.
— Steve Beynon could be reached at Steve.Beynon@army.com. Comply with him on X @StevenBeynon.
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