The Patriot Files Forums

The Patriot Files Forums (http://www.patriotfiles.com/forum/index.php)
-   Marines (http://www.patriotfiles.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=95)
-   -   Marine Recruiter Charged With Assaulting Md. Girl (http://www.patriotfiles.com/forum/showthread.php?t=27926)

thedrifter 06-05-2003 10:03 AM

Marine Recruiter Charged With Assaulting Md. Girl
 
Marine Recruiter Charged With Assaulting Md. Girl


By Christian Davenport
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 5, 2003; Page A08


A U.S. Marine Corps recruiter who was a fixture in Howard County high schools, attending proms, sporting events and graduations in search of potential enlistees, was charged yesterday with committing assault and a sex offense against a 17-year-old girl in his recruiting office in Columbia, authorities said.

Staff Sgt. Shawn Potwin, 26, of Glen Burnie had been under investigation since May 20, when the girl, who enlisted in the Marines and was waiting to start basic training, told police about the alleged incident, which she said occurred March 23. The specifics of her complaint could not be determined yesterday. Potwin, who was not arrested, was issued a summons to appear in court on two misdemeanor charges: second-degree assault, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $2,500 fine, and fourth-degree sex offense, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

A Marine Corps spokeswoman, Sgt. Victoria Gross, said Potwin has been suspended from recruiting and assigned to administrative duty "pending the results of the trial and a military investigation." Potwin did not respond to messages requesting comment on the charges.

Seeking recruits, Potwin would spend hours in each of the five Howard County high schools to which he was assigned, spending time outside the cafeterias and speaking, when invited, to classes. During the evening, he would call students at their homes.

In his two years of recruiting, Potwin had become such a fixture in the schools that one of them, Mount Hebron, asked him to serve as a consultant for its production of the military courtroom drama "A Few Good Men."

At the Howard High School prom in April, he served as a chaperon. During a speech to a class at Long Reach High School, he opened his talk by saying: "I understand a lot of you are probably, like, 'You know what? The military isn't for me.' But if you just allow me the time that I'm going to take in this class, it might open up your eyes."

Then he gave an impassioned speech about how the military could change their lives for the better. He had grown up like them, he said, hating school, ambling without direction into the future. But the Marine Crops allowed him to travel the world, to see Scotland, Egypt, Israel and Japan.

"That was just one of the things I was afforded to do in the Marine Corps," he said.

His accuser enlisted last June, after her junior year at Glenelg High School, and was waiting to start basic training under a delayed-entry program. She has changed her mind about entering the Marine Corps, Gross said.

Staff researcher Margot Williams contributed to this report.


? 2003 The Washington Post Company

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...-2003Jun4.html



Sempers,

Roger

the humper 06-05-2003 12:00 PM

DRIFT!!!
 
They should take the young gentleman out, hang him, then give him a fair trial and see how he is adjudicated!!!!
SF
NC

thedrifter 06-05-2003 02:41 PM

the humper

We have had an active discusion on this too.....

Here is the link to see other points of views....

Sempers,

Roger


http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/sh...&threadid=7501


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 11:55 PM.

Powered by vBulletin, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.