ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, March 13, 1997 TAG: 9703130059
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus also called for an independent investigation into whether racism was involved.
Judicial proceedings involving charges of sexual misconduct at the Army's Aberdeen Proving Ground will go forward, Army Secretary Togo West said Wednesday.
He rejected a call from the NAACP for an outside investigation into the Army's handling of its sex harassment probe.
``I think we have oversight enough,'' West told reporters after a Pentagon meeting with Kweisi Mfume, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Mfume met with West to discuss charges Tuesday from five white female soldiers that Army investigators had bullied them in an effort to get them to falsely claim that their supervisors had raped them.
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus also called for an independent investigation Wednesday into whether racism was involved in the Army investigations. Most of the men charged in the Army's sex scandal are black.
``The Army should not ... be investigating itself in this matter,'' Mfume said.
West and Defense Secretary William Cohen indicated that the Army will examine allegations by five female soldiers that military investigators tried to coerce them into falsely accusing superiors of rape. The women said they resisted the coercion, and rape was not among charges filed against the men.
West said that the military ``convening authority'' - the general officer at Aberdeen who has the authority to call for courts-martial in the cases - also has the authority to determine whether the statements used in the cases had been coerced or not. That would be done, he said.
``These are allegations that go to the efficacy of this proceeding,'' West explained.
West, appearing before the House National Security Committee earlier, said, ``We want to make sure that we don't disrupt the ongoing proceedings'' at Aberdeen.
Pressed by lawmakers, he said he ``would certainly consider an internal review'' of the women's coercion allegations aired Tuesday. He said he interprets the women's statements as allegations of ``untoward and perhaps illegal'' behavior by the investigators.
Cohen discussed the charges in an interview taped for broadcast over CNN.
``If the Army has been engaging in this kind of activity, it simply won't be tolerated,'' Cohen said. ``But we don't know what the facts are.
``What we have to have is a thorough examination of the charges, what has been precipitating this and the allegations of sexual misconduct and sexual harassment.''
Since the scandal broke in November, at least 50 female recruits have made official complaints of sexual abuse at Aberdeen; the Army has acted against 14 servicemen accused of rape, assault and other sex crimes.
The women's charges against investigators came a week before crucial judicial proceedings were to begin in the Aberdeen cases. Preliminary motions are scheduled, for example, on five charges including rape and forcible sodomy against Capt. Derrick Robertson. His court-martial begins May5.
Preliminary motions are March31 in the court-martial of Staff Sgt. Delmar Simpson, who faces nine charges that include rape and forcible sodomy. His trial starts April7.
At their Tuesday news conference, the five women refused to say whether they had consensual sex with Aberdeen instructors, which under the military code would be illegal acts for the superiors. An Army source told The Associated Press all five women said in sworn statements they had consensual sex.
Much misunderstanding arose after the news conference, given incorrect reports that the women had recanted accusations of rape, but Army sources said their statements had led to no rape charges.
In letters sent Wednesday to President Clinton and the House and Senate National Security committees, members of the Congressional Black Caucus requested an independent probe - including congressional hearings - into the Army's sexual harassment investigations.
The caucus also asked investigators to take a serious look at whether racism was involved.
``The investigation has been significantly complicated by recent allegations by five white female soldiers that Army investigators attempted to coerce accusations of rape against their African-American drill instructors,'' said the letter. It was addressed to Rep. Floyd Spence, R-S.C., chairman of the House National Security Committee.
At the same time, Black Caucus members said they want every charge of sexual misconduct fully investigated and those guilty punished.
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