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 ...
... a woman was violated for chrissakes!So she said. No evidence, just her claim. Monkey trial.
The appeals process or even time in jail would have worked better in his favor than to run from authorities. Currently, he just looks like a guilty-as-hell @sshole.
Unless this guy is looking for a one-armed man who is the real criminal who beat up his one-night stand, he will remain a dumbass in my book.
The thing that jumped out at me when reading the article was the fact that his escort was a member of his unit. I am assuming this means he was SF as well. Maybe a case of ‘Hey my friend, I’m a heavy sleeper tonight’?
Ummm, no. That doesn't make him a dumbass. It just makes you a dumbass for saying that.
And faced with a choice of:
A) Military Prison for many years
B) Suicide
C) Go on the run
I'm taking C then B then A. They'd drag me to the military prison kicking and screaming.
he will remain a dumbass in my book.
And you will always be one in mine.
Then why are you continuously following me around?
"You can piss off for all I care."
Trust me, professor. The feeling is beyond mutual.
"But you don't get a free pass to just slag off the SF without somebody saying something."
Talk about a strawman argument. I never once took issue with the Special Forces. My contention is that I see a fugitive from justice who is incapable of understanding that he is creating more wasteful spending for the US taxpayer.
As a taxpayer, am I not allowed to be angry that my money is being wasted in search of his sorry ass?
BTW, he is a disgrace to the Special Forces, genius.
Because:
A) this is my thread
B) Because I served in the US Army as an infantryman- proudly- and do not like to see non-knowing non-appreciative types like yourself denigrate elite soldiers. You obviously don't have a clue- just like you don't have a clue about EU travel requirements.
As a taxpayer, am I not allowed to be angry that my money is being wasted in search of his sorry ass?
Oh aye. You can get angry. But I can get angry too. In fact, I'm always angry. I'm always looking for someone like you to vent on in a thread.
Seriously, see a doctor.
See a doctor? Why? I have you.
No...I have family in Special Ops...they do not act like two legged beast....they are trained well and are warriors in battle...and gentlemen when off duty.
I disagree about who has the issues. This soldier was apparently railroaded. And you seem to have no issue with that.
Gee, I am so glad that we cleared that up.
No need for an appeals process.
If you don't like a court decision, then to heck with them all. Just run, and do your own thing.
This idiot has a pregnant wife and a baby on the way. Does he not realize that he has seriously jeopardized any chance of ever seeing them again in a normal environment?
He could have done his jail time and gotten back to a normal life with them.
It is YOU who believes that he was wrongly convicted, and thus has the right to flee from US and German authorities.
I am so grateful that you are not part of the criminal justice system at any level.
I expected that to be the case. I was just taking advantage of the wild description they gave to play on the fact that these fellas are capable of visiting great destruction upon our enemies if duty requires.
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.
Not Guilty, but he's sentenced to 8 years???
*baffled*
Done jail time for a crime that was never committed? The whole trial was "he said, she said".
Did you even READ the article?
The article says he was found guilty of kidnapping and sexual assault. He was found Not Guilty of the other charges. I can’t see how he was found guilty of anything.
That guy is a really screwed up individual...he obviously started out that way long before his special ops training. He needs to be put away or a double tap to his head.
Why are you of the opinion that a human being should ignore the justice system, and just do whatever the hell they want?
The appeals process and prayer would have been the honorable approach. Even if he was innocent, going to jail as an innocent man would have held more honor than saying "F the system, I am gonna do what I want!"
The appeals process, prayer or even the jail time would have allowed his kid to have some type of normalcy in his life later on.
But, since this guy has no honor, why are you pursuing the argument in favor of his running from authorities?
He is not even thinking about his kid with his behavior.
Uh-huh.
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