Air Force instructor convicted of rape
An Air Force instructor was convicted of rape, sexual assault, and several other counts he was charged with on Friday.
A seven member jury read the verdict in the Lackland Air Force Base courtroom.
Staff Sergeant Luis Walker was charged with 28 counts, including rape and attempted assault, of inappropriate sexual behavior with 10 women at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, according to NBC News.
Walker is the first of seven instructors at the base that were referred for the court martial. Five others are under investigation and 35 instructors are no longer on active duty status while officials look into the accusations.
Walker may face life in prison and dishonorable discharge.
According to the Associated Press, all of the women did testify against Walker. They stated that he would get them alone in his office or an empty dorm where he forced them to kiss, touch, and finally have intercourse. The women were scared at first to tell anyone in fear that they would be kicked out of the Air Force.
Testimony for the sentencing will begin Saturday.
“You know now that Staff Sergeant Walker is the consummate predator,” Maj. Patricia Gruen, the lead prosecutor, told the jury. “We gave him a position of authority. We gave him the uniform that should carry respect, we gave him the hat of a Military Training Instructor, and he used that for his own sexual gratification.”
She also stated that he took advantage of the women because they were “fragile and scared” and also used the fact that basic training is supposed to be “unusual and terrifying” to fulfill his desires.
