Officials at Fort Hood confirmed to Breitbart Texas that Sergeant First Class Gregory McQueen may face charges for his conduct that allegedly includes running a prostitution ring on the grounds of Fort Hood. An Article 32 hearing (military equivalent of a grand jury) concluded on June 4th.
Lt. Colonel James Varley, presiding officer of the hearing, heard testimony from both prosecution and defense witnesses according to a press release obtained by Breitbart Texas. Initial charges were filed against Sgt. McQueen in March. The charges include twenty-one specifications of charges “related to pandering, conspiracy, maltreatment of a subordinate, abusive sexual contact, adultery and conduct of a nature to bring discredit to the armed forces.”
Brigadier General Clark LeMasters, Jr., commanding general of the 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) will receive the Article 32 recommended disposition report from Colonel Varley and decide how to proceed from here. General LeMasters is the special court-martial convening authority in this case.
According to the Daily News, a cash strapped female soldier testified before the Article 32 hearing that she was forced into prostitution so that she could make money to buy groceries for her child. She stated that McQueen took nude photographs of her to distribute to clients and forced her to have sex with him to see how she would perform for clients.
At the time, McQueen served as the Fort Hood Sexual Assault Prevention Coordinator. One of the clients was Master Sergeant Brad Grimes, according to the Daily News report. Grime has already been demoted and reprimanded for his role in this matter. Grimes paid $100 to have sex with the woman at a motel in Kileen and then later had sex with the female soldier at the her on-post home, according to the Killeen Daily Herald.
McQueen has been relieved from his sexual assault prevention duties. An additional woman claimed McQueen sexually assaulted her when he tried to recruit her to be a prostitute in the sex ring. She claimed that McQueen preys on young females who are in bad financial situations and that he keeps their pictures on his cell phone,” according to a report in the Austin American-Statesman in December, 2013.
When the special court-martial convening authority makes a decision to take action or forward the case to the general court martial convening authority, a statement will be forward from Fort Hood.
Bob Price is a staff writer and a member of the original Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.