SAN DIEGO — A preliminary hearing is scheduled Thursday for a Marine accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl who authorities say was found in his barracks at Camp Pendleton.
The Marine’s name has not been disclosed, but more details on the case are expected to be presented in the courtroom Thursday morning.
“It shocks the conscience,” attorney Jan Ronis said to FOX 5 on Wednesday. “How did he get her on the base?”
The girl was reported missing by her grandmother on June 13, after running away from home four days prior. She was then found in the barracks on June 28.
Ronis, an attorney for more than five decades, said there are still a lot of questions that will hopefully be answered in military court.
The Marine faces two sets of Uniform Code of Military Justice charges, including sexual assault of a child between the ages of 12 and 16 years old, and breaching restrictions. The charging documents allege that the Marine broke two liberty restrictions on June 27, the same day he is accused of sexually assaulting the teen, according to the charging documents. Based on the charges, the Marine was not supposed to be in a non-government vehicle or leave the base.
“It looks like there’s some minor infractions, which standing alone aren’t that serious, but nevertheless he’s charged with them,” Ronis said. “They don’t add much to it, they only kind let us think he must have been a problem Marine.”
After the hearing, the command will review the evidence and charges to determine if the case should be tried by court-martial.
Ronis said this case is still in its early stages, which can be hard to see where a case may end up, but he believes there’s strong suspicions for these charges.
“They certainly have strong suspicion to believe he has been engaged in this criminal activity and it looks like he will be ordered to stand trial in the future,” Ronis said.
Military court will likely not be the end of this Marine’s legal battles.
“He can be prosecuted militarily, as he is going through right now, and then he can also be prosecuted in a civilian court, both state and federal. So he’s got his hands full no matter what happens militarily,” Ronis added.
Camp Pendleton is federal property, so the Naval Criminal Investigative Services is handling the investigation.
Timeline of the case:
June 9: Grandmother claims the girl ran away from home.
June 13: The girl’s grandmother reported her missing to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department. A deputy with the Rancho San Diego Sheriff’s Station responded to the grandmother’s home in Spring Valley to take a missing person report.
June 27: Charges allege that this is when the Marine breached his restrictions by going off base and riding in a non-government vehicle. Charges also allege this was the date he allegedly sexually assaulted the teen.
June 28: Military police at Camp Pendleton located the teen and informed the sheriff’s department. The girl was interviewed and returned to her grandmother. The Marine was taken into custody, as seen by a social media post.
August 4: UCMJ Charges filed against the Marine.
