Innocent Soldier Imprisoned
THE SOLDIER:
Gary Shafto has always been a very truthful, hardworking, heart-filled devoted man; since the very day I met him. Gary did not go to Ft Drum as some young, inexperienced, trouble-ridden, neglected man off the streets for the reason of not having anywhere else to go. Gary has a long history of holding a “duty” to his country and freedom. He started at the very young age of 13 at Admiral Farragot Military School, and has since held very high standards for himself, his country and the military. I remember to this day begging him not to go active duty again…he looked me in the eye and very simply said, “I need to do this, this is what I’m all about.” That simple statement had so much emotion and devotion behind it. From that moment on I supported him and never asked him another question about it. Gary didn’t need the army…we both had wonderful jobs, great paying & fulfilling, a great place to live, but in Gary’s eyes, the army needed him so it was time to go. I’ve seen Gary as a friend…I’ve watched him give his last dollar to one of his friends who had no money so they could buy a gallon of milk for their child. I’ve seen him offer his house, money, food and heart to anyone he has known who needed help and without asking any questions. I’ve watched him emotionally pick people up and carry them when they were knocked down. When Gary’s friends laughed, he laughed; when they cried, he cried and when they needed him he was always there. I’ve seen Gary as a husband…I’ve watched him make sure that I had everything I needed AND more before he took. I’ve seen him worry more about my life than his own. I’ve seen him get on his knees and pray for me when I was sick. I’ve watched him care for and love my family just as much as his own. But most importantly, I’ve seen Gary as a soldier, and a proud & devoted one at that. He has put himself on the line for many other soldiers. He always stood for what was right and “just” no matter how it affected him. And believe me when I tell you that I saw firsthand just how it affected him, many times and in may ways. Gary showed to be an exemplary soldier as always which earned him an “Impact Award” and he received a 3-star coin from Lieutenant General Kean; The 18th Airborne Corp Commander, and Command Sergeant Major McFowler. He was so well known by the OPFOR, that his name was mentioned in the OPFOR’s after action review, and the Battalion Commander of the OPFOR personally mailed him a certificate of achievement. You might ask why I know all this …I know it because I look around my house and on all the walls are pictures, certificates and awards that prove the brotherhood, devotion, and success of Gary’s life and career in the military. Gary Shafto was proud to serve his country and would have been more than happy to die for his flag and his country, but he’s not willing to give up his life and his freedom for something that is not justified.
THE CRIME:
Sexual Assault/Forcible Sodomy...
September 2000, Gary attended a small party held by neighbors outside Ft Drum, NY. There he met a 20 year old girl. She immediately took a liking to Gary and spent most of the evening flirting, rubbing his back, etc. Within hours, she was telling Gary to divorce his wife (ME...we had been seperated for over a year) and join the coast guard with her. They all were watching movies when my Gary fell asleep on the floor. Within a few hours, he woke up very cold and seeing her sleeping on the couch with a blanket, made his way over to see if she would allow him to sleep there and get some warmth. The two did not fit on the small couch so they both moved to the floor. They started kissing and "fooling around". Shortly after that she started to "freak out", stating she had been sexually assaulted when she was 12. Gary very quickly realized this young woman was somewhat disturbed and he immediately stopped all advances and moved away from her. She then returned to the couch, and a short time after that Gary decided to leave and go home. Three days later Gary was arrested for sexual assault and forcible sodomy. What this young woman told the police was that Gary forced her down and held her while performing oral sex on her (in the military both oral and anal sex are concidered acts of sodomy). She never claimed any sexual intercourse, nor that he forced her to reciprocate or do any acts in return. My husband was now facing life in prison. Everytime she was questioned she told a different story...so with the opinions of the lawyers involved, he had nothing to worry about. We had all the evidence on his side. February 2000...Trial by court martial...Jury convicts and sends Gary to Ft Leavenworth Kansas for 10 1/2 years. . This whole situation absolutely baffled my mind after the court-martial…baffled me so much that I felt intrigued to learn more about the situation and about my husbands accuser…
THE ACCUSER:
After the trial, I obtained the whole case file from Ft Drum. The records speaks for themselves. Everyone involved in questioning and testifying regarding this issue has proven to tell a different story and more lies each time interviewed or asked questions. In reading HER medical records, I learned very easily and quickly that she suffers from a severe mental deficiency. It states since she was at a very young age that she is both homicidal and suicidal. She has attention deficit disorder, which is most commonly associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder. She cannot deal with rejection and considers rejection as assault. One discrepancy is the “time” length of the so-called incident. From the beginning of sworn statements and the article 32 hearing it was “3 hours…by the time we got to trial, it was 10-15 minutes!!! So which one was it?? 3 hours, or 10 to 15 minutes???? At the Article 32, she testified to Gary’s actions as being all oral sex, but at the court-martial, it miraculously turned into other “things” in addition to oral sex. She first stated she froze. Later when questioned stated that she physically fought the whole time. Then even later she stated that she stayed quiet and didn’t scream out because she was afraid of how her friends would react…afraid they might go after Gary. If someone was sexually assaulting me, I really wouldn’t care what happened to them, would you? Would anyone? She also stated that she would never forget the incident and moments later when asked a question pertaining to the alleged incident, she said she couldn’t answer it because she couldn’t remember and that it was a long time ago. This was another case of a consensual act between 2 adults which when she was told my husband did not want to pursue a relationship, turned to authorities in retaliation. She also lied on the stand when asked if she had ever been arrested. She said no, but I am well aware of her being arrested in the state of New Jersey and spent time in a county jail. That along with her other provable lies would have impeached her right there and the charges should have been dropped. She also spent plenty of time in a juvenile home from troubled teens…this is where ironically she met her friend and witness in the trial, Ms "Q". Both the accuser and Ms "Q" lied and claimed that they met each other in school on the stand at trial. I chose to take a 14 hour drive to her hometown to do my own research. This is where I learned a lot about her from people that know her and work with her. This is where I also spoke to two individuals that were previously falsely accused of criminal and/or sexual acts by my husbands accuser. When she was 12 years old she had performed consensual oral sex on a young...we'll call him "X" (15 at the time). Very shortly after this incident, "X" found out that she lied about her age (she had stated she was 13). He decided he did not want to pursue a relationship with Kelley. She then turned to the authorities and claimed she was sexually assaulted. That was her 1st false allegation (We have statements and paperwork regarding this case along with a videotaped interview I took while in Plattsburgh).
The second false allegation was in 1997-1998. She started seeing a, Mr "Y". In a short amount of time Mr. "Y" realized he didn’t have much in common with her and that he no longer wanted to pursue the relationship. He proceeded to end it with her. The accuser convinced two of her girlfriends to co-conspire in her act and get revenge on Mr. "Y". They turned to authorities and claimed that not only had he run her off the road but that he beat and abused her. The two young women that co-conspired have since regretted doing what they did and regret being a part of the accusers lies. Mr "Y" clearly did not assault her. That was her 2nd false allegation. Her 3rd prior false allegation was discovered through my investigation. She was the age of 20 when she started seeing a Mr. "Z" who was the age of 15. They dated for a brief time then she started claiming to friends and family that he raped her. We have come to the conclusion that the reason for no formal charges or paperwork is for the simple fact that she would have been charged with statutory rape being that she was 20 and he was only 15. She still recieved the much desired attention from her family and friends though...and that's all that seems to matter. The interesting thing about this situation and in talking to the accused family members, they stated that while she was dating their son, Mr. "Z" (Time frame was PRIOR to her meeting my husband Gary), she was already claiming that a soldier (name unknown) had raped her. Unfortunetely I have not been able to get enough information yet to locate this man, and being in the military can be anywhere in the world. These 4 men and my husband makes 5 PRIOR FALSE ALLEGATIONS!!!!! If council entered this in at trial it would have drastically changed the outcome of the trial. Under MRE 412 it states false prior accusations are admissible in court to establish credibility of the witnesses. Judge Hargis even points out to the jury the fact that her testimony is contradictive to her own statements and prior testimony. The jury took the word of an admitted liar over an honest 11-year service member, who had NO contradictions in statements or questioning. In a court of law, anyone found to lie under testimony is brought up on perjury charges and their testimony is stricken from the record. Defense council failed to motion to impeach Ms McGrath, and I feel the judge abused his discretion by not impeaching her on the spot and continuing to allow her testimony. The accuser was the only eyewitness who proved herself to be a liar time and time again in her testimony as seen in the ROT. As a matter of fact, all her testimony contradicts the evidence. The fact that she was “fighting” Gary off for 3 hours, but not one scratch or bruise on either person. She lied about where the incident took place. Under direct examination she even stated her testimony was inaccurate. The accuser testified to being in Watertown when her friend who held the party woke up and that her friend was sitting on the couch when they got back. Her friend testified to waking up and finding the accuser on the couch. Like I said, she’s lied so much that she has forgotten what she said.
INEFFECTIVE COUNCIL:
Gary was obviously represented by an ineffective council who was inexperienced in defending the charges brought against my husband. Not only was he inexperienced, it was obvious that he actually helped the prosecution and deliberately lost the case. What happened to “you have the right to council and a fair trial”…in this case, it was “you have the right to council, but he’ll actually be helping the prosecution, so unfortunately, I’m sorry, but this time there won’t be a fair trial”. Excuse the sarcasm , but I say this for many reasons. Defense counsel knew a few things that he really should have done something about…One was the first prior sexual assault accusation. He knew at the time of trial that Mr. "X" was out there and never tried to find or contact him (Which I must say that I found him within a few phone calls). This was a prior false sexual allegation. THAT SHOULD have been an issue at trial!!!! Gary had specifically asked council for Mr. "X" to be questioned and brought in as a witness. Council simply lied to Gary stating that he had no information on him. Well that’s interesting seeing as though within the case file after the trial was plenty of information on Mr. "X". He not only lied about this, he lied about many things to both Gary and I. Not only did he not question or speak to Mr. "X", defense council did not request ANY expert witnesses; actually, not ONE witness period. Another big issue dealing with ineffective council is the issue regarding the accusers medical records. Like I stated earlier, her records say A LOT about her history and her mental state. The first issue regarding these records is the fact that a complete set of both her mental records and her gynecological records had been asked for by defense. Defense actually only received a very small portion of her mental records, and none of her gynecological records. It was very obvious, but defense chose to ignore it and not raise the issue. How did the prosecution obtain the small portion of records?? I’ll tell you …not by subpoenaing them like they should have been, but by simply asking the father of the accuser for them. He simply handed over what he chose to. With the disturbing history these records hold, is that fair to Gary that they were not provided as asked and ordered by the judge? Simple case of suppressing evidence. The suppression of evidence alone constitutes a mistrial! It’s very simple…if the prosecution had subpoenaed the records he would have been forced to give everything to defense. Capt Vales (prosecution) knew how incredibly damaging these records would be to the case so by asking the father for them, he could deny knowing they were incomplete. Trial council had no proof and therefore entered as much prejudicial evidence he possibly could with the intent to make the jury hate him.
IN SUMMARY:
Let me sum this all up for you…
Gary’s conviction and sentence should be reevaluated for MANY reasons...This injustice has outraged friends, family, and many others. He does not need luck...he simply needs JUSTICE!!!!
UPDATES
CAMI (Citizens Against Military Injustice)
Military Corruption
Philip Cave (Attorney)
David Sheldon & Karen Hecker (Attorneys)
MilitaryInfo.com
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