Posted on 08/20/2009 4:28:45 PM PDT by Prodigal Son
VILSECK, Germany — A manhunt is under way for a U.S. Special Forces soldier who fled after being convicted of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a German woman.
Sgt. 1st Class Kelly A. Stewart — who was found guilty of multiple charges including kidnapping, forcible sodomy and aggravated sexual assault of a woman in an August 2008 incident — was last seen early Thursday morning by his escort at an on-post hotel.
Stewart, 36, is an Iraq war veteran who trains fellow Special Forces soldiers at the International Special Training Center in Pfullendorf.
“He’s an angry animal and not a human,” said the 29-year-old victim, standing outside the Vilseck courthouse Thursday morning after learning he had disappeared. “I know how dangerous he is. It’s impossible to believe that they left him alone last night.”
Sgt. 1st Class Detrick Hampton, a member of Stewart’s unit, was sharing a room with Stewart at the Kristall Inn, Vilseck’s on-post hotel.
At Thursday’s sentencing hearing, Hampton told the military judge that he last saw Stewart before drifting off to sleep early in the morning. When he awoke around 7:30 a.m., Stewart was missing, along with his Class A uniform, wallet, two cell phones and a rented black Audi Q5 SUV, Hampton said.
It was not clear whether Stewart had a weapon.
The U.S. military and German police are coordinating the search for the missing soldier.
A “Be On the Lookout” poster shows Stewart’s mugshot and advises anyone who comes in contact with the soldier to approach him with caution. It says Stewart has visible tattoos, speaks near-perfect German and may attempt to pass himself off as a German.
(read more at source)
(Excerpt) Read more at stripes.com ...
Interesting quote from article:
“He should have had a guard. He was found guilty last night,” Lorch said. “Under German law, we would have thrown him in jail from the beginning and brought him to court in handcuffs. Here he walks around as a free man. He’s found guilty, and he walks out the door. It’s ridiculous.”
Bourne Identity
“He’s an angry animal and not a human,”
Well, then, he sounds like a good special ops guy for our times.
Yeah, I found this story quite appealing actually. Obviously I feel bad for the girl who was victimized. Still, this has all the elements of a good action flick.
Rambo?
No, Rambo would have blown up every vehicle and surrounding empty buildings on his way out.
If you can find him and no one else can help.....
“Rambo?”
Check. Turn ‘im loose in the Hindu Kush with just these orders: bring back Bin Laden’s head on a stick.
STRAC
That sums up why you never, ever pick up a girl in a bar for a "one night stand".
I’m rather disgusted by some of my fellow freepers comments - a woman was violated for chrissakes! It’s not a movie or Saturday morning cartoons.
One of the main JOBS of SF was to be able to infiltrate foreign countries and avoid capture while committing acts of sabotage. He is highly trained in how to escape and evade capture. It will be interesting to see how long he’s on the loose, and how far he gets.
“If he’s in the forest, we won’t find him for weeks,” he said. “The guys from his unit have the same training. They have some chance to get him.”There are loads of wild boar in the German forests. I already have an image of him eating pork chops high up on a ridge tonight.
More than likely he E and E'd in his car to Eastern Europe.
Yep. And his going to jail or escaping doesn't unviolate her. He should go to prison obviously and pay for his crime. But in the mean time it is still interesting.
His civilian lawyer, David Court, pointed out that the prosecution case was based, almost entirely, on the victim’s statements and that, since she didn’t report the incident for several months, there was no forensic evidence to back up her claims.
He added that she didn’t leave the room when Stewart took a shower, didn’t call for help from a bedside phone and she wrote her cell phone number on hotel stationery in the room before she left the next morning.
During the court-martial, he was found not guilty of rape, abusive sexual contact and communicating a threat.
On Thursday, a panel of 10 male enlisted soldiers and officers sentenced Stewart to eight years in prison. In addition, he was given a dishonorable discharge, was reduced in rank to E-1 and ordered to forfeit all pay and allowances.
Typo? Otherwise, this does sound like a movie. He even has a black Audi now.
Interesting as a news item yes, but certainly not entertaining. I was especially surprised that some think that makes him a good sf soldier.
From the article:
His civilian lawyer, David Court, pointed out that the prosecution case was based, almost entirely, on the victim’s statements and that, since she didn’t report the incident for several months, there was no forensic evidence to back up her claims.She says she was brutally violated, yet leaves her cell number for him. Methinks her real issue was that he didn't call her afterwards.He added that she didn’t leave the room when Stewart took a shower, didn’t call for help from a bedside phone and she wrote her cell phone number on hotel stationery in the room before she left the next morning.
I have a feeling his Army buddies agreed, and arranged for him to get away and out of the country to someplace that has no extradition treaty with Germany.
Wow. Sure sounds like the Sergeant was the one who got screwed (no pun intended)
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