A former Air Force enlisted member complains that a married Coast Guard senior petty officer sexually assaulted her in South Carolina. The offenses took place at a bar and in a private residence. According to
this press report, "[MK1 Sheldon] Bond met his accuser through his brother-in-law, who recruited the two to join a group who would dress up as the Village People, an American disco group. His wife wasn't present. . . . [T]he group returned to Bond's sister's house in Lexington, S.C., where they continued drinking. She said she went to sleep in a little bed with stuffed animals in Bond's niece's room. She was drunk." The case was tried at the Coast Guard District Office in Miami.
After three and a half hours of deliberations, the members acquitted MK1 Bond of the sexual assault charges but convicted him of adultery.
Adultery is a crime in South Carolina:
SECTION 16-15-60. Adultery or fornication.
Any man or woman who shall be guilty of the crime of adultery or fornication shall be liable to indictment and, on conviction, shall be severally punished by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars or imprisonment for not less than six months nor more than one year or by both fine and imprisonment, at the discretion of the court.
So why was this case tried by court-martial rather than in state court?
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