{"id":46709,"date":"2019-05-30T20:25:28","date_gmt":"2019-05-30T20:25:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/05\/30\/mental-health-questions-delay-trial-for-army-prosecutor-charged-with-rape\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:49:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:49:20","slug":"mental-health-questions-delay-trial-for-army-prosecutor-charged-with-rape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/05\/30\/mental-health-questions-delay-trial-for-army-prosecutor-charged-with-rape\/","title":{"rendered":"Mental health questions delay trial for Army prosecutor charged with rape"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The rape court-martial<\/a> of a former Army special victims prosecutor has been delayed for a second time this year, amid questions about the soldier\u2019s mental state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Capt. Scott Hockenberry<\/a>, who faces three counts of forcible intercourse and three of sexual assault consummated by a battery<\/a>, will be evaluated for \u201cmental readiness\u201d before his case is put back on the trial docket, Military District of Washington spokeswoman Shaunteh Kelly confirmed to Army Times on Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Col. Daniel Brookhart, the presiding judge, \u201cruled that Captain Hockenberry is presently unable to understand the nature of the proceedings and cooperate fully in his defense,\u201d Kelly said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hockenberry had originally been scheduled for trial in February, but a defense request for a continuance pushed proceedings off until early June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brookhart ruled in late April that Hockenberry would undergo an evaluation before the trial begins, Kelly said, adding that details were protected by medical privacy rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the Manual for Courts-Martial, a board of physicians or clinical psychologists will be convened to consider a defendant\u2019s mental fitness for trial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That includes whether he or she was mentally disabled at the time of the crime, any clinical psychiatric diagnoses, ability to discern right from wrong at the time of the crime or any present mental health issue that would prevent him or her from understanding the trial or cooperating in their defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\t