U.S. Naval Academy midshipman not guilty in sex assault case

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

BY TOM RAMSTACK
WASHINGTON Thu Mar 20, 2014 1:10pm EDT

(Reuters) - A judge found a Naval Academy football player not guilty of sexually assaulting a female midshipman on Thursday, in one of a spate of sexual misconduct cases roiling the U.S. military.

Midshipman Joshua Tate, a senior from Nashville, Tennessee, had been accused of assaulting the 22-year-old woman at an alcohol-fueled off-campus party in April 2012.

Marine Colonel Daniel Daugherty announced Tate was not guilty of aggravated sexual assault after two days of testimony at Washington's Navy Yard.

The trial had largely centered on whether the accuser was too drunk to consent to have sex.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/20/us-usa-military-sexualassault-idUSBREA2J1F520140320

[dreamstst]

1. Very hard for females to get justice in the military.

nt.

[24601]

2. Given that she cannot say what actually happened, a conviction was not likely in any court not

controlled by a dictator.

The defendant starts not guilty and stays that way until a guilty verdict. A judge, military or civilian, hearing a case where a jury trial has been waived still has to determine that the evidence proves guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.