Fort Cavazos soldier accused of assault, attempted murder

Five women were attacked in their own barracks room at Fort Cavazos, Texas by a soldier who authorities say raped or attempted to rape them in a series of incidents that spanned more than a year and a half

Sgt. Greville Clarke, 31, was arraigned on Monday and faces nine charges under the Uniform Code of Military Justice and 27 counts of attempted first-degree murder, rape, attempted rape, kidnapping, robbery and grand larceny. of associated charges.

Clarke has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

How Clarke managed to evade authorities for more than a year and a half while stationed at the base, or what steps base authorities took to stop him, was unclear from charging documents obtained by Task & Purpose.

Fort Cavazos officials declined to comment on the case, citing ongoing legal proceedings.

“We value the safety of our soldiers, civilians and their families,” Col. Kamil Sztalkoper, a spokesman for the III Armored Corps at the base, said in a statement.

The charges against Clarke were first reported by Stars & Stripes.

According to court documents, Clarke first allegedly assaulted a woman at the Texas base on March 16, 2021, and again on March 5, 2022. Authorities allege Clarke held women against their will, threatening them with a weapon and tying their limbs with the intention of raping and assaulting them.

In mid-July 2022, Clarke again attacked a woman in the barracks and allegedly raped her, pointed a loaded firearm at her and strangled her with a light cord until he believed she was dead. According to the charge sheet, Clarke also placed his foot on her neck and placed the woman in a locker with the intention of “secreting her elsewhere.” If he had managed to move the woman, authorities said, Clarke could have killed her, but the woman escaped and fled before he could shoot her.

Clarke allegedly stole a cell phone, car and room keys, Apple watch, wallet, common access card, five pillows, two blankets and a comforter from the barracks. According to the charge sheet, Clarke disposed of the bedding to “obstruct the due administration of justice” as he “had reason to believe that there were or would be” criminal charges pending against him.

Three months later, in early October 2022, Clarke again threatened a woman with a firearm, tied her hands with rope, blindfolded her and raped her. Court documents say he struck the woman in the head with the firearm. He allegedly took two of her cell phones, which she attempted to remove, and her credit card which she also attempted to fraudulently use to access her bank account and obtain $14,000.

Security base

Since news of the assaults broke, moderators on military-focused social media pages have pointed to a recent report from the Government Accountability Office that highlighted a number of barracks security issues throughout the Army, such as broken locks in barracks rooms, insufficient and non-existent or working lighting. security cameras that service members said made incidents of sexual assault “more likely.”

Service members told government investigators in September 2023 that they were “concerned that unsecured barracks doors could allow an intruder to enter the barracks and assault service members.” Soldiers told the GAO that in one incident, an ex-spouse broke into and physically assaulted a service member in their barracks because of insufficient security measures. The report included Department of Defense data indicating that more than 30 percent of sexual assault reports between 2015 and 2021 occurred in on-base housing, including barracks, which typically house younger soldiers with the rank of sergeant and below.

After Clarke was arrested in October 2022, additional criminal allegations involving multiple victims were uncovered. He is currently being held at the Bell County Civil Justice Center in Belton, Texas, nearly 20 miles east of Fort Cavazos.

The case is being handled by the Army’s Office of Special Trial Counsel, which referred the case to a general court-martial. Before Clarke’s case was referred for a court-martial, “substantial investigative and administrative efforts” were needed, said Michelle McCaskill, a spokeswoman for the office.

Clarke joined the Army on September 18, 2017 as a bridge crewman and was assigned to the 36th Engineer Brigade at Fort Cavazos. His service awards include the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal and the Campaign Medal of inherent resolution.

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Clarke pleaded not guilty to all charges and specifications and deferred a decision on whether to opt for a jury or a single military judge for his court-martial, McCaskill said.

Pre-motion hearings are scheduled for Dec. 10, 2024, and Feb. 11, 2025. The trial date is set for April 1, 2025, according to the UCMJ filing.

Office of the Special Trial Advocate

The Office of the Special Trial Counsel, which was advocated by the Pentagon in December 2023 for each of the military services, assumed the authority to make prosecutorial decisions for criminal cases that previously belonged to unit commanders . Now, independent prosecutors separate from the soldier’s command determine whether a case should go to court-martial.

Since the army office was set up, its team has investigated 3,300 cases, sent 67 of them to court-martial, prosecuted 32 and had 29 convictions, told a group of reporters Col. Christopher Kennebeck, special prosecutor of the trial to a group of journalists in October. Association of the US Army Annual Conference in Washington DC

The office currently handles 13 criminal offenses including murder, domestic violence and sexual assault and will add sexual harassment cases to its docket in January 2025. It’s unclear how adding harassment cases will increase the workload of the trial lawyer. A RAND Corporation report that analyzed cases between August 2017 and July 2018 found that “sexual harassment is far more common in the military than sexual assault.”

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