7 Paratroopers Charged in Gay Porn

The Army has charged seven paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division with engaging in sex acts in videos shown on a gay pornography website.

Three of the soldiers face courts-martial on charges of sodomy, pandering and engaging in sex acts for money, according to a statement released by the military Friday.

Four other soldiers received what the military called nonjudicial punishments.

The Army has recommended that all the paratroopers involved be discharged.

The charges do not mention the name of the site, but the division had been investigating allegations that soldiers appeared on a gay pornography website. A spokesman for the division said Friday’s charges were a result of that investigation.

The military-themed site did not make any direct reference to the division or Ft. Bragg, the base for the 82nd Airborne.

“As far as we’re concerned, it’s isolated to the unit, and our investigation determined that these seven individuals were the only ones” involved, said 82nd Airborne spokesman Maj. Thomas Earnhardt.

Steve Ralls, spokesman for Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a legal group that helps gays and lesbians in the military, said the charges indicated the soldiers’ behavior was “a much more serious matter than just their sexual orientation.”

Ralls said, “I’m not going to make excuses for service members who are taking part in sexual conduct for money. It would be absolutely criminal regardless of whether they were heterosexual or gay.”

Earnhardt said the three soldiers facing courts-martial had been appointed military attorneys, but their lawyers were unavailable for comment Friday.

The three soldiers who face courts-martial are: Spc. Richard T. Ashley, Pfc. Wesley K. Mitten and Pvt. Kagen B. Mullen.

An arraignment is scheduled for March 7.

The four soldiers who received nonjudicial penalties were not identified. Their punishments included reduction to the rank of private, 45 days of restriction to the unit area, 45 days of extra duty and forfeiture of a month’s pay.

All seven paratroopers were members of the 2nd Battalion of the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment.

The registered owner of the website’s domain name lists an address in Fayetteville, the city that adjoins Ft. Bragg. A phone number listed for the registered owner was not in service Friday, and e-mails were returned as undeliverable.

The military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy states that “homosexual orientation alone is not a bar to service, but homosexual conduct is incompatible with military service.”