Cindizzi
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Fort Hood soldier sentenced to two years in prostitution scheme
A Fort Hood soldier who admitted to luring financially strapped female soldiers into a prostitution ring on the post was sentenced to two years imprisonment Thursday, hours after apologizing for putting a “smudge” on an Army struggling to lower its rates of sexual assault.
Sgt. 1st Class Gregory McQueen, 39, also received a reduction in rank to private and a dishonorable discharge, which means he will lose retirement benefits his lawyers said could be worth as much as $350,000.
McQueen initially faced a maximum punishment of more than 40 years, but pleaded guilty to most of the charges against him in a deal with the government that dramatically reduced his potential sentence. He pleaded not guilty to a single assault charge related to his unwanted kissing of a young soldier he tried to lure into the ring, but was convicted for that charge Thursday morning after a short trial.
Prosecutors said McQueen’s actions were particularly heinous because at the time he was the sexual assault prevention officer for his battalion at Fort Hood’s III Corps command group. On Wednesday, one of three female soldiers he admitted to trying to bring into the ring said he used information gained in that role — of a previous sexual assault — to try to win her confidence.
Retired Sgt. 1st Class Jennifer Dice said McQueen’s actions had devastated the Sexual Harassment/Assault Prevention and Response Team at Fort Hood. “The program was broken basically,” she said. “There was no trust. Soldiers could not come forward. The program was abused.”
Fort Hood soldier sentenced to two years in prostitution scheme
A Fort Hood soldier who admitted to luring financially strapped female soldiers into a prostitution ring on the post was sentenced to two years imprisonment Thursday, hours after apologizing for putting a “smudge” on an Army struggling to lower its rates of sexual assault.
Sgt. 1st Class Gregory McQueen, 39, also received a reduction in rank to private and a dishonorable discharge, which means he will lose retirement benefits his lawyers said could be worth as much as $350,000.
McQueen initially faced a maximum punishment of more than 40 years, but pleaded guilty to most of the charges against him in a deal with the government that dramatically reduced his potential sentence. He pleaded not guilty to a single assault charge related to his unwanted kissing of a young soldier he tried to lure into the ring, but was convicted for that charge Thursday morning after a short trial.
Prosecutors said McQueen’s actions were particularly heinous because at the time he was the sexual assault prevention officer for his battalion at Fort Hood’s III Corps command group. On Wednesday, one of three female soldiers he admitted to trying to bring into the ring said he used information gained in that role — of a previous sexual assault — to try to win her confidence.
Retired Sgt. 1st Class Jennifer Dice said McQueen’s actions had devastated the Sexual Harassment/Assault Prevention and Response Team at Fort Hood. “The program was broken basically,” she said. “There was no trust. Soldiers could not come forward. The program was abused.”