A Fort Sill soldier accused of pinning a fellow soldier to a wall and sexually assaulting her has been convicted of sexual assault, abusive sexual contact and assault consummated by a battery. (read more here /crimes/sexual-assault")
A military judge found Spc. Jose J. Flores, Jr., guilty in the 2014 incident and stripped him of his rank, ordered him to three years' confinement, and gave him a dishonorable discharge. The sentence must still be approved by Fort Sill's commanding general, who has the authority to reduce the sentence.
Military crimes are handled by court martial, and the military justice system is different than the local state courts. The crimes of which the soldier was convicted would be considered sexual battery under Oklahoma state law.
Sexual battery is unwanted, nonconsensual physical contact for the purpose of sexual gratification. It encompasses all sexual assaults of a person over the age of 16 that fall short of rape or that are not considered child sexual abuse. The Oklahoma law defining, prohibiting, and penalizing sexual battery is found in the same statute against lewd or indecent proposals or acts to a child under 16--often called "lewd acts" or "lewd molestation."
Title 21 Section 1123 (B) defines sexual battery as "intentional touching, mauling or feeling of the body or private parts of any person sixteen (16) years of age or older, in a lewd and lascivious manner" under the following circumstances:
- without consent
- when committed against a student aged 16 to 19 by any school district employee aged 18 or older, regardless of the student's apparent consent
- when committed against someone in custody or under the supervision of a state or local government agency by an employee or contractor of that agency, regardless of the person's apparent consent; for example, sexual contact between an arrestee and a law enforcement officer, an inmate and a corrections worker, or a DHS ward and a DHS employee
Sexual battery is a felony sex crime. Conviction brings a potential prison sentence of up to 10 years. Acts of sexual battery range significantly in severity, but conviction of sexual battery, no matter how seemingly minor the act, requires lifetime sex offender registration as a Level 3 (high risk) sex offender.
The penalties for sexual battery are harsh, and they last a lifetime because of sex offender registration requirements. If you are accused of sexual battery, the prosecution must prove several elements in order to obtain a conviction: physical contact, intent, and lewd or lascivious purpose.
An experienced, knowledgeable, and skillful sexual battery defense attorney can challenge the prosecution's case, working to obtain a dismissal or acquittal for the accused.