Houston Chronicle Sunday

Guillén family seeks $35M after soldier was harassed and killed

- By Acacia Coronado

AUSTIN — The family of a Texas soldier who was was sexually harassed and killed at a military base near Killeen in 2020 has filed a lawsuit seeking $35 million in damages from the U.S. government.

The family of 20-year-old Vanessa Guillén is seeking damages on the basis of sexual harassment, abuse, assault, rape, sodomy and wrongful death.

An investigat­ion by military officials into the death of Guillén, who was killed by a fellow soldier at U.S. Army base Fort Hood, found that she also was sexually harassed and that leaders failed to take appropriat­e action. The lawsuit describes two instances in which Guillén was harassed during her time as a soldier and her suicidal thoughts as a result of coping with the harassment, which she told family that she did not report for fear of retaliatio­n.

“This will be an opportunit­y for every victim to feel not only like they have a voice but that they can be made whole,” said Natalie Khawam, who filed the lawsuit Friday on behalf of the Guillén family.

The lawsuit follows a decision Thursday by a three-judge panel from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco stating that an Army colonel could proceed with a lawsuit against a former Air Force general over a sexual assault allegation. The court found that a law barring service members from

seeking damages over injuries during service did not apply.

Guillén was declared missing in April 2020. Her remains were found that July, when soldier Aaron David Robinson, accused of killing her, died by suicide following a confrontat­ion with officers. A civilian faced charges for allegedly helping Robinson dispose of the body.

Her death and claims by her family that she was harassed and assaulted at the Texas base sparked a social media movement of former and active service members who came forward about their own experience­s in the military with the hashtag #IAmVanessa­Guillen. State and federal lawmakers have since passed legislatio­n in honor of Guillén that removed some authority from commanders and gave survivors more options to report.

 ?? Marie D. De Jesús/Staff file photo ?? Relatives of Army Spc. Vanessa Guillén approach a painting of the soldier during a 2020 memorial service in Houston.
Marie D. De Jesús/Staff file photo Relatives of Army Spc. Vanessa Guillén approach a painting of the soldier during a 2020 memorial service in Houston.
 ?? Marie D. De Jesús/Staff file photo ?? Guests embraces Juan Cruz, Vanessa Guillén’s fiancé, at her 2020 service. She was killed by another soldier.
Marie D. De Jesús/Staff file photo Guests embraces Juan Cruz, Vanessa Guillén’s fiancé, at her 2020 service. She was killed by another soldier.

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