Marine Corps Set to Reopen Tailhook Case

The Marine Corps has decided to reopen the most notorious case to arise out of the 1991 Tailhook scandal because of new testimony indicating that Lt. Paula Ann Coughlin may have accused the wrong Marine of sexual assault.

In a hastily called hearing to be convened in Quantico, Va., this morning, a new defense witness will testify that he saw someone other than Capt. Gregory J. Bonam attack Coughlin, sources said. At the same time, two other new witnesses will say that the Marine fighter pilot was with them--and not in the hallway of the Las Vegas Hilton hotel--when Coughlin allegedly was assaulted.

If the testimony is convincing, charges against Bonam could be dismissed.

Discussing the new witnesses, Bonam’s attorney, Patrick J. Mackrell, said: “I continue to be optimistic about this case.”

The lawyer said James Kelly, a Navy civilian employee, will testify that he witnessed part of the attack on Coughlin and remembers that the assailant, whom he cannot identify, was about the same height as Coughlin--5 feet, 4 inches. Bonam is a little taller than 6 feet, 1 inch.

In addition, other witnesses will testify that they were with Bonam on a hotel patio at the time Coughlin was assaulted. They apparently can pinpoint the time because they remember a window falling out of the hotel, reportedly pushed out when someone was “mooning” pedestrians on the street.

It was unclear why the witnesses have stepped forward now, rather than during the original hearing in August.

Marine spokesmen in Quantico said Wednesday afternoon that they did not know the exact nature of the new testimony. Chief Warrant Officer Robert C. Jenks said only that the case was ordered reopened “after additional witnesses, who may have a bearing on the investigation, were identified.”

In the August pretrial hearing, Bonam and other defense witnesses cast doubts on Coughlin’s assertions that he attacked her in a hallway where servicemen had set up a gantlet and were grabbing and groping women as they passed through it.

All told, the Pentagon concluded, 83 women were assaulted and 140 service members engaged in improper conduct that night.

The defense witnesses pointed out that Coughlin, at the time a Navy helicopter pilot and admiral’s aide, originally identified someone other than Bonam in a photographic lineup, and that photographs of Bonam from the night of the incident showed that he was wearing clothing that did not match Coughlin’s recollection.

The case was sent to Lt. Gen. Charles C. Krulak to decide whether Bonam should face court-martial. Some military sources predicted that Bonam would be exonerated.

“It looks to me as though this is largely an exculpatory drill,” said one military source close to the case, adding that “it now seems damn unlikely” that the assault charges against Bonam will hold up.

“But what concerns me more is what will happen if they dismiss the case against him and don’t pursue the new suspect,” the source added. “They at least have to try.”

Coughlin’s attorney, Nancy L. Stagg of San Diego, said that despite the new witnesses, her client remains steadfast in her belief that she was assaulted by Bonam.

“Lt. Coughlin has not changed her testimony,” Stagg said. “She identified him and that’s what her testimony is.”