Army Drill Sergeant Still Faces 20 Misconduct Charges After Rape Count Dropped

Prosecutors dropped the last remaining rape charge in the Aberdeen sex scandal Tuesday, leaving an Army drill sergeant facing 20 counts involving sexual misconduct and related charges.

The Army gave no explanation for dismissing the charge against Staff Sgt. Vernell Robinson Jr., citing an order by the judge, Col. Paul Johnston, prohibiting both sides from discussing the case.

Robinson, 32, who could have faced life in prison on the rape charge, was one of 12 Aberdeen staff members facing charges. He was one of four charged with rape.

Staff Sgt. Delmar Simpson, the only officer convicted of rape, was sentenced to 25 years. The Army dropped or plea-bargained the charges away in the other three cases.

Robinson, who is married, has pleaded innocent to having sex with female trainees, obstructing justice, and numerous other charges and faces up to 65-1/2 years in prison.

The offenses allegedly occurred from April to September 1996, when Robinson was a drill sergeant at Aberdeen Proving Ground, a training and weapons testing center 30 miles northeast of Baltimore.

A jury was picked Tuesday for his court-martial, due to begin today.

The panel may hear testimony from drill instructor Staff Sgt. Wayne Gamble, a witness for the prosecution.

Gamble, also charged in the sex scandal and has been trying to arrange a plea bargain. He faces 32 charges, mostly for alleged sexual misconduct.

Robinson, a Mississippi native who has been enlisted in the Army for 13 years, told the Washington Post he was disappointed that drill sergeants were turning against him. “It’s heartbreaking,” he said. “There’s like this bond. This is my friend. … But everybody has their own agenda in life.”