A combat photographer based at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, has been acquitted of a charge that he sexually assaulted an airman under his command, but was convicted of a lesser offense that his attorney says he will appeal.
A North Dakota sergeant accused of sexually assaulting airmen under his command was found not guilty, but was convicted of a lesser offense and sentenced to 30 days confinement, according to court records.
Tech. Sgt. Aaron Allmon II, with the 5th Bomb Wing, was accused of engaging in “physical contact of a sexual nature,” including touching an airman on her thigh and back, according to documents filed with the Judge Advocate General’s office.
He was also charged with allegedly threatening a female airman in April 2014, telling her “I will always like you, until you do something to my career and then I am coming to get you.”
And he was accused of making “repeated verbal comments of a sexual nature” to female airmen under his command, prompting charges of sexual harassment and maltreatment.
A judge found Allmon not guilty on the charges of sexual assault, harassment, and making threats, in a trial that ended Nov. 14, according to a statement from Minot.
He was convicted of maltreating two junior female airmen by making sexual comments, and for lying to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. The judge sentenced Allmon to 30 days confinement at Minot and a demotion to staff sergeant.
Jeffrey Addicott, a law professor, retired Army lieutenant colonel and part of Allmon’s defense team, told Air Force Times that Allmon is being unfairly targeted and that they will appeal the judge’s ruling.
“This guy has been put through hell. The day he was charged the whole chain of command turned their back on him,” Addicott said. “He was not given the benefit of innocent until proven guilty; they ostracized him.”
Addicott said the case “stands for the thousands of males in the Air Force that have to live with political correctness. … The chilling effect it has on the esprit de corps, males are afraid to say good morning, they’re afraid to open a door for a female. I know of cases where military officers and NCOs will not make corrections on female soldiers. …They simply let them get away with whatever they want to do,” Addicott said, adding that Pentagon leadership “needs to be held accountable” for “the males that are wrongfully caught up in this stuff. It’s like a Salem wWitch trial.”
Air Force leaders have “overreacted in the name of political correctness,” Addicott said, and argued that “these generals are more concerned with making their next star than they are maintaining the esprit de corps in the military.”
A senior Air Force official, who requested to remain anonymous in order to discuss the case, disagreed that the service is being too aggressive in its prosecutions.
“Broad statements from a paid advocate are broad statements from a paid advocate,” the official said. “It’s hard to say your client was innocent when you see the judgment that was returned. … Our system is just, robust, fair and this time it returned a verdict on three serious charges.”
Despite some media reports that Allmon faced 130 years in prison, the senior official said that was only the maximum sentence of the combined charges that prosecutors were considering — not what Allmon faced when he entered into a court room.
“He never would have faced 130 years in prison because those charges were not refereed to trial,” the official said. “What he did face was the maximum punishment of 15 years. Even in trial the government counsel argued for 60 days confinement. The prosecutor was not overzealous.”
The official said prosecutors often start broad when considering which charges to pursue.
“It’s a winnowing process, but it’s not done to paint a picture of an accused, not done to drive any sort of plea bargain,” the official said, adding there is concern the reporting on 130 years punishment is creating “a perception of this being something more than it is, especially if you focus on charges that never got referred to trial.”
Addicott responded that he is not being paid for his work on the case.
The Air Force hasn’t determined where Allmon will be assigned once he’s released, the official said, but it is likely he will go back to a posting at Minot.
“The local command structure will handle that to the satisfaction of both Sergeant Allmon and the subordinates he was convicted of maltreating,” the official said. “We’ve got a pretty good process in place already through the chain of command to make sure everyone is treated fairly.”
A statement from Minot said that “each and every allegation is taken seriously, investigated fully, and adjudicated fairly, regardless of the gender, race, sexual orientation, or rank of the accused or accuser.”
“The core values of integrity, service, and excellence are foundational to our Air Force,” the statement said. “We build on them by reinforcing and fostering a culture of dignity and respect where alleged victims are empowered to report crimes and those accused of a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. … The Air Force also remains dedicated to a system of military justice that guarantees fundamental fairness to all, especially those accused of a crime, and ensures a disciplined Air Force committed to the mission of national security and defense.”
Allmon, a combat photographer, joined the Air Force in February 1996, according to Air Force personnel records. He has received two Joint Service Commendation Medals, an Air Force Commendation Medal, an Army Commendation Medal, two Air Force Achievement Medals, an Army Achievement Medal, and an Air Medal.
