Lt. describes alleged assault in nuke bunker

[unhappycamper]

Lt. describes alleged assault in nuke bunker
By Zachary Franz - Great Falls (Mont.) Tribune via Gannett News Service
Posted : Friday Sep 26, 2008 8:31:54 EDT

A lieutenant stationed at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., testified Wednesday that a higher-ranking officer sexually assaulted her as the two operated a nuclear launch facility bunkered 30 feet deep in Teton County.

The hearing, held at Malmstrom, was to determine whether there is enough evidence against Capt. Adam Pitman to justify a general court-martial. Pitman is charged with aggravated sexual contact and conduct unbecoming of an officer.

Prosecutors began the day by calling the woman who made the accusations to the stand. Under questioning from both the prosecuting attorneys and Pitman’s defense attorneys, she spent about two hours giving her account of what happened.

The woman said Pitman fondled her against her will last December in the bunker, and she was unable to leave because of an 8-ton blast door and strict military regulations.

The lieutenant said she met Pitman for the first time shortly after she arrived at Malmstrom in 2006. Pitman invited her to a poker party at his house, where the two kissed and engaged in other intimate activity, she said. The lieutenant testified the interaction was consensual, but she didn’t realize until later that Pitman was married.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/09/gns_sexassault_malmstrom_092508/%2e