Gag Order in Army Sex Abuse Case Sought

Attorneys asked for a gag order Friday to stop the Army from talking about charges against a captain and two drill sergeants charged with raping female recruits and other offenses.

Statements made by Army Secretary Togo West Jr. and other high-ranking officials are ruining the suspects’ chances of a fair trial, said military lawyer Capt. Vincent Avallone.

His client, Staff Sgt. Nathanael Beach, and two other instructors--Staff Sgt. Delmar Simpson and Capt. Derrick Robertson--were arraigned Friday at the Aberdeen Proving Ground, where the sex offenses allegedly took place.

“Let’s prohibit the Army from further infringing on Sgt. Beach’s right to a fair trial,” Avallone said.

Added Maj. Jerome Murphy, Robertson’s attorney: “By the Army’s own actions, they have created this untenable situation.”

After the hearing, Lt. Col. Linda Webster, the military judge, said another judge would take up the gag order request on Tuesday.

Government attorneys argued against a gag order. The judge granted their request that the pool of potential panel members refrain from reading or listening to news reports about the cases.

The three instructors--all married--did not enter pleas and deferred choosing between a military judge or a military panel to hear their case.

Simpson is charged with raping three female recruits, sodomizing two privates and sexually assaulting two others. Robertson is charged with rape, adultery and sodomizing a private, while Beach is charged with adultery, obstructing justice and disobeying an officer. All three face courts-martial.