Army major accused of sexually abusing 20 victims released while agency weighs court-martial

A highly decorated one Army An officer accused of sexually assaulting 20 victims and facing more than 70 sexual assault charges was released from pretrial confinement last week as his case begins to make its way through the military justice system.

A military judge ruled that “the government had not demonstrated that lesser forms of restraint were inadequate to protect the community” while pursuing its case against Major Jonathan Batt, who is assigned to Myer-Henderson Hall Joint Base on the outskirts of Washington, D.C., an Army official told Military.com in an emailed statement.

Michelle McCaskill, a spokeswoman for the Army’s Office of Special Trial Counsel, said in the email that a preliminary hearing officer recommended Monday that the charges against Batt be brought to court-martial. It is now up to the office to decide whether to continue court-martial proceedings.

The allegations against Batt first surfaced when an unnamed individual filed a complaint against the officer, who is currently assigned to the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, with the Alexandria Police Department in Virginia, the Army statement said without to offer a date.

Alexandria police then notified the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division, which launched a joint investigation that “uncovered additional allegations involving multiple victims,” McCaskill said.

Army Times was the first outlet to report the allegations.

Batt is accused of assaulting a total of 20 victims between December 1, 2019 and February 17, 2023, with most of the alleged crimes taking place in the Washington, DC area, according to the military.

The US Army Office of Special Trial Counsel initiated Batt’s prosecution on October 16 when it preferred three charges and 76 specifications against him.

Specifically, Batt is charged with 14 counts of rape, 20 counts of sexual assault, three counts of abuse of sexual contact, 15 counts of aggravated assault by strangulation, one count of aggravated assault by suffocation, 22 counts of assault by battery, and one specification of obstruction of justice, McCaskill said.

The agency filing the charges – the Office of the Special Trial Attorney – is a new entity that only emerged at the end of last year and is a congressionally mandated response to years of under-prosecution of sexual assault, domestic violence and other serious crimes by the military.

The office is responsible for making independent decisions on the prosecution of such serious crimes – an authority that has traditionally been in the hands of commanders.

Batt is an infantry officer who joined the service in May 2007, according to information provided by the Army.

Over the course of his career, he was assigned to the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 5th Ranger Training Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, 75th Ranger Regiment and 3rd Infantry Regiment.

He also deployed four times to Afghanistan and received two Bronze Star Medals, two Meritorious Service Medals, four Army Commendation Medals and seven Army Achievement Medals, among other campaign and service awards.

He has also earned the Ranger Tab, as well as the Combat Infantryman Badge and Expert Infantryman Badge, among others.

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