Army officer faces charges of rape and sexual assault of 20 victims

An Army major is facing charges related to sexual assault involving at least 20 victims in the Washington, D.C., area over a nearly three-year period.

The Army’s Office of Special Trial Counsel confirmed to Army Times on Thursday that the office has opted for three charges containing 76 specifications. accusations of sexual assault against Major Jonathan J. Batt, who was assigned to the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center in Crystal City, Virginia, on October 16.

A military pretrial officer on Thursday recommended that the charges against Batt be sent to a court-martial, and the special trial attorney will make the final call on whether the charges should proceed, officials said.

The military declined to release Batt’s criminal complaint and additional details about the crimes.

Batt faces 14 counts of rape, 20 counts of sexual assault, 3 counts of harassing sexual contact, 15 counts of aggravated assault by strangulation, 1 count of aggravated assault by strangulation, 22 counts of assault by battery and 1 count of obstruction of justice, Office of Special Trial Counsel spokeswoman Michelle McCaskill told Army Times. He said:

The alleged crimes occurred in the Washington, D.C., area between December 2019 and February 2023, McCaskill said.

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Batt’s civil defense attorney, Phil Cave, declined to comment Thursday.

“We want to represent him strongly and have no further comment at this time,” Cave said in a statement.

McCaskill referred further questions to the CID, but the CID did not respond to a request for comment by Army Times deadline.

Batt was detained at a military detention facility in Chesapeake, Virginia, as of Thursday, authorities said.

Batt was commissioned in 2007 after attending the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, officials said. He deployed to Afghanistan four times as an infantry officer and previously served with the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 5th Ranger Training Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, 75th Ranger Regiment and 3rd Infantry Regiment.

The major’s awards include two Bronze Star Medals, two Meritorious Service Medals, four Army Commendation Medals, 7 Army Achievement Medals, and various other awards.