82nd Airborne Division Soldier Pleads In Gay Sex Case

FORT BRAGG, NORTH CAROLINA - One of the three 82nd Airborne Division soldiers charged with having sex for money on a military-themed gay pornography Web site has accepted a plea agreement, division officials confirmed Friday.
Pfc. Richard Ashley is scheduled to appear in front of a military judge Thursday to finalize the agreement, said Sgt. 1st Class Dean Welch, an 82nd spokesman.
Details of the plea agreement were not released.
Two other soldiers — Pfc. Wesley K. Mitten and Pvt. Kagen B. Mullen — are scheduled to stand trial in May. Division officials said it is unclear whether Mitten and Mullen are also seeking plea agreements.
All three were charged with pandering, wrongfully engaging in sexual acts over the Internet for money and sodomy, the division said last month. Mullen also was charged with adultery.
Mitten and Mullen were arraigned in March. Both pleaded not guilty, and their cases were referred by the 82nd to a special courts-martial.
Unlike a general court-martial, a special court-martial does not require an Article 32 hearing, the military equivalent of a grand jury. The maximum punishment is also limited to not more than a year in prison, forfeiture of two-thirds pay for one year, reduction in rank to E-1, and a bad-conduct discharge, according to the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Four other soldiers received nonjudicial punishment for the same offenses. The Army is not required to disclose the names of soldiers punished under Article 15. The four unnamed soldiers were reduced to private, forfeited half a month’s pay for two months, performed extra work and were restricted to Fort Bragg for 45 days.
The four unnamed soldiers are being discharged, division officials said.
All seven soldiers were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment. The unit was the 3rd Battalion of the 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment before it was transferred in January to create the 82nd’s fourth brigade.
The Web site is still operating and was updated Sunday . It is registered to Dennis Ashe, owner of three Fayetteville-based production companies — Active Duty Productions, Pink Bird Media and New Fame Media, according to the N.C. Secretary of State’s Office.
from Fayetteville Online