AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AP) — The only cadet to face a court-martial following last year's rape scandal pleaded guilty Tuesday to reduced charges.
Douglas L. Meester of Marco Island, Fla., was accused of assaulting a fellow cadet in October 2002 during a night of heavy drinking in a dorm room. He was originally charged with rape, sodomy, indecent assault and providing alcohol to minors.
Those charges were dropped, and, in exchange, Meester pleaded guilty to conduct unbecoming an officer, indecent acts and dereliction of duty.
Meester, who had faced a life sentence, received a reprimand and was fined $2,000.
An 18-year-old freshman from Pennsylvania who was in the dorm room has said she passed out and awoke as Meester raped her, but defense attorneys say she never told him to stop and did not resist.