Lawyer: Men lied about rape(Gay Military)

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE -- An Air Force officer's alleged victims lied about being raped and drugged to avoid being discovered as gay in the military, a defense attorney told a military jury Tuesday.

Capt. Devery L. Taylor, former chief of patient administration at Eglin Regional Hospital, is gay...

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE -- An Air Force officer's alleged victims lied about being raped and drugged to avoid being discovered as gay in the military, a defense attorney told a military jury Tuesday.

Capt. Devery L. Taylor, former chief of patient administration at Eglin Regional Hospital, is gay and engaged in consensual sex with the men he is accused of raping, his civilian attorney, Martin Regan, said during opening arguments in Taylor's court-martial.

Taylor, 38, is accused of raping four men and attempting to rape two other men. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole if convicted of all the charges against him. The charges are two counts of attempted sodomy, four counts of forcible sodomy, three counts of kidnapping and one count of unlawful entry.

"This case is about homosexual activity that is not approved of by the military services in our country at this time. Every one of these individuals but one is either in the military service or wants to be in the service," Regan said.

Under the military's "don't ask don't tell" policy, military members who are openly gay are subject to discharge. Gays and lesbians may serve in the military only if they keep their sexual orientation private. Commanders may not ask, and gay service members may not tell.

Four of the men were in the military when they met Taylor and a fifth feared that disclosing his relationship with Taylor would ruin his chances of pursing a Navy career, said Regan, who said Taylor would testify about his relationships with the men.

Capt. Eveylon Westbrook, the military prosecutor, described Taylor as a serial rapist who met his victims in bars, spiked their drinks with date-rape drug gamma-hydroxybutyrate, or GHB, and kidnapped them.

"Each victim will tell you they felt like they were drugged before he either assaulted or attempted to assault them," she said.

A Pensacola paramedic later testified that he and Taylor were friends and had consensual sex on a previous occasion before the two met again at a bar in July 2004. The man said he had one beer and that Taylor then bought him a shot, which caused him to become extremely ill.

He said he woke up in Taylor's home and that Taylor raped him repeatedly, but that he couldn't fight Taylor because he felt drugged.

"My brain knew what was going on, but my body just wouldn't cooperate," he said.

The man said he did not report the encounter to authorities until two years later when he read a newspaper report about Taylor's arrest.

"I was in denial. I knew it was wrong," he said.

An Air Force lieutenant, who worked with Taylor at the base hospital, later testified about his 2004 encounter with Taylor. He said he blacked out and does not know if he was raped. The lieutenant, who is married, said he never had consensual sex with Taylor.

But Regan asked whether the lieutenant came forward with his accusations against Taylor after investigators found casual pictures of the two on Taylor's home computer.

"You enjoy your career in the Air Force and wouldn't want to jeopardize your career," Regan asked the lieutenant.

I don't even know what to say about this.

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