Pfc. Asia M. Graham.Photo: Facebook
Maj. Gen. Sean C. Bernabe, 1st Armored Division commander, personally ordered “the referral of charges” against the soldier to a general court-martial, reads the statement.
“The referred charges include one specification alleging the sexual assault of Pfc. Asia M. Graham,” the statement adds. “A military judge will be detailed to the case to arraign the solider and docket a trial date.”
The sexual assault occurred less than a month after she moved to the base.
According to Fort Bliss officials, Graham lodged a complaint against the soldier, alleging sexual assault, on June 1, 2020. In the complaint, Graham alleged the crime occurred in December 2019.
At this point, investigators do not suspect foul play in Graham’s death.
Graham was a Human Resource Specialist who joined the US. Army in July 2019 from Cherryville, North Carolina.
Graham’s was one of two soldier deaths to occur in Texas last week. Staff Sgt. Jessica Mitchell, a drill sergeant at the U.S. Army Medical Center for Excellence at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, wasfound shot to death in her caron New Year’s Day.
Within the last year, several soldiers have either died or been killed in Texas, including 31 soldiers connected to Fort Hood, where there were 11 reported suicides and five homicides.
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The murder ofVanessa Guillen, a small arms repairer with the 3rd Cavalry Regiment at Fort Hood, ended up generating the most headlines.
Before vanishing on April 22, 2020, the 20-year-old Fort Hood soldier told her family an army specialist had been sexually harassing her.
source: people.com
