Air Force o∞ cer faces rape charge
colorado springs » The former vice commander of Schriever Air Force Base’s 50th Space Wing has been charged with rape, assault, adultery and a string of other crimes, documents released Thursday show.
Col. Eugene Marcus Caughey, now assigned to Air Force Space Command, is chargedwith misconduct dating to 2013.
The rape allegation stems from a late 2014 incident at Schriever, where prosecutors allege Caughey raped a woman “while holding her against the wall and floor.”
A spokesman at Peterson Air Force Base said the military won’t answer questions about Caughey, who is scheduled for aMarch 17 hearing to determine if there’s sufficient evidence for a courtmartial.
“To protect the rights ofCol. Caughey and the integrity of ongoing legal proceedings, no other information about the case will be released at this time,” the spokesman, Capt. William Russell, said in an email.“We treat the rights of all involved in the investigation with utmost care and concern, remembering that those involved are innocent until proven guilty.”
A 23- year Air Force veteran, Caughey was an up- and- coming space officer whose responsibilities had included running a 22- nation missile defense war game in 2014 for U. S. Strategic Command. At Schriever, he was the No. 2 officer in the wing, which oversees the military’s constellation of navigation and communication satellites.
Hewas also a survivor of the 9/ 11 attack on the Pentagon, according to a story on Schriever Air Force Base’s website.
“I was a captain inside the Pentagon that morningwhen a plane crashed into the west side of the building,” Caughey said on thewebsite. “That day and thereafter, I have witnessed the courage demonstrated by those responding to the attack.”
Court papers show that investigators suspect Caughey was misbehaving as far back as fall 2013, when they allege he had sex with “a woman not his wife.”
Prosecutors allege a string of affairs, with six counts charging adulterous acts.
He’s also charged with taking an obscene selfie. Prosecutors say Caughey photographed his ownexposed genitalia “while in uniform and seated in his office.”
He also is charged with sexual assault for allegedly groping women on separate occasions last year. He’s charged with simple assault in a July 10 incident where prosecutors allege he grabbed someone on the arm.
The most recent charges against the colonel allege he was caught on base with an unregistered firearm in July and violated an order to not contact one of the alleged victims in the case.
The rape charge could bring amaximum punishment of life in a military prison.