U.S. Army Special Forces Sergeant First Class Kelly A. Stewart admitted to having a one-night stand with a 28-year-old German woman the night of August 22, 2008. She did, too. Both knew sex was part of the plan when they left the discotheque near Stuttgart. Two months later, however, her story changed and the highly-decorated combat veteran found himself facing rape and kidnapping charges.
During court-martial proceedings one year later, Stewart faced an Army courtmartial panel comprised of soldiers who had recently returned from a 16-month deployment with the Army attorney serving as Stewart's lead prosecutor.
Despite a lack of both physical evidence and eyewitnesses to the alleged crimes, it took only three days for the panel to find Stewart guilty of numerous offenses -- including aggravated sexual assault, kidnapping, forcible sodomy and assault and battery -- and sentence him to eight years behind bars.
Incredibly, the conviction was based almost entirely on the testimony of Stewart's accuser, a one-time mental patient who, with the backing of the German government, refused to allow her medical records to be entered as evidence.
When several witnesses came forward during a post-trial hearing to reveal startling proof that the accuser had lied several times during the trial, their words were largely ignored by the court and Stewart remained behind bars.
Today, Stewart's fighting for a new trial so he can shed the "sexual offender" label that will stay with him the rest of his life if justice remains out of reach.
Based on extensive interviews and never-before-published details taken from the actual Record of Trial, "Three Days In August: A U.S. Army Special Forces Soldier's Fight for Military Justice" by Bob McCarty paints a portrait of military justice gone awry that’s certain to make your blood boil.
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