A woman has accused a special agent with the Army Criminal Investigation Command of sexually assaulting her while he was conducting a narcotics investigation at her home on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, court papers state.
The Army agent has not been arrested or charged with a crime. But when asked about the case, Chris Grey, chief of public affairs for the Army Criminal Investigation Command, confirmed that an agent has been suspended from all investigative duties “”based on an open and ongoing investigation into allegations.”” He also stated that the command has alerted theFBI.
“”We take these allegations very seriously and are committed to conducting a thorough investigation,”” he said.
The allegations came to light after the Army recently obtained a search warrant for a Lacey home where the agent under investigation resides. Lacey police executed the search warrant on the Army’s behalf at the home April 13. Lacey police seized clothing belonging to the agent, according to the search warrant affidavit.
The agent is under investigation in connection with a potential charge of third-degree rape, the affidavit states.
According to the search warrant affidavit:
The clothing items seized are similar to the clothing the woman said the agent was wearing at the time of the alleged sexual assault.
The woman said the sexual assault took place at her residence at JBLM on April 12. She said the agent was searching for narcotics at her house and told her “”he can make the investigation go away if she would perform sexual activity with him.”” The woman said they then had sex. She said “”she felt like she had to perform the sexual activity or (the agent) would make her life difficult with the narcotics investigation.””
Worldwide, there are about 900 Criminal Investigation Command special agents, according to the command’s website.
The agency’s special agents “”primarily investigate felony-level crime across the Army and provide investigative support to field commanders,”” the website says. “”They conduct a wide variety of investigations to include deaths, sexual assault, armed robbery, procurement fraud, computer crimes, counter-drug operations and war crimes. (The agency’s) agents also provide counter-terrorism support, criminal intelligence support, force protection, forensic laboratory investigative support, and protective services for key Department of Defense and senior Army leadership.””
Grey said Tuesday that if Army investigators forward a criminal investigation to a prosecutor — in military court or federal court — and an individual is charged with a crime, the criminal charge becomes a matter of public record.