A Missouri drill sergeant accused of sexually assaulting at least eight female soldiers pled guilty to three of the charges, Monday.
Fort Leonard Wood Staff Sgt. Angel M. Sanchez, 30, pled guilty to wrongfully engaging in sexual misconduct with three women soldiers. He entered the guilty plea before his court-martial began, reports Lake News Online.
Sanchez now faces 27 specifications on three charges involving sexual assault and harassment. The sexual assaults happened between mid-September 2013 and January 2014 in the female barracks latrine and the drill sergeant's office.
The charges include allegations involving female soldiers in Afghanistan and Fort Richardson, Alaska.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that at least one woman accused Sanchez of threatening to remove her from the Army if she did not agree to his sexual advances. He is accused of improperly touching a fellow drill sergeant, as well as other women during floor counts with the "intent to gratify his own sexual desires," according to the records.
A pretrial hearing dismissed several accusations against Sanchez.
Ernesto Gapasin, attorney of Sanchez, said before the plea that the dismissals indicated a fiery prosecution, reports SFGate citing the Associated Press. "I do believe the government has serious issues with the credibility of witnesses," he said. "I think that manifested itself in all the charges that were dismissed."
According to Gapasin, some who accused Sanchez of assault initially were either facing disciplinary action of their own or forced separation from the military. "There clearly are some motivations on the part of the accusers that could lead to false accusations," he said.
