The 82nd Airborne Division soldier who turned himself in at the U.S.-Canadian border last week after deserting 16 years prior pleaded guilty to the crime.
According to court records shared by the Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps, Sgt. Christopher M. Vassey, 38, entered his guilty plea on Thursday, Dec. 12. He faces one charge of violating 10 U.S. Code § 885 – Art. 85, or desertion.
Vassey surrendered to authorities at the Rainbow Bridge border crossing near Niagra Falls in New York on Dec. 3. He was arrested by Customs and Border Protection after they discovered an active arrest warrant for him and the 82nd Airborne soldier was transferred back to his unit’s custody at Fort Liberty. The 82nd Airborne Division confirmed his identity to Task & Purpose Dec. 7.
It is still unclear why Vassey decided to leave Canada and voluntarily surrender to authorities.
The 82nd Airborne did not immediately respond for comment.
Vassey joined the New Jersey Army National Guard in 2003. After three years, he joined the U.S. Army in 2006. Assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, he deployed to Afghanistan in 2007. According to Canadian court documents from his applications for asylum, Vassey alleged that “he was ordered to perform actions contrary to the rules of armed conflict,” including raids on civilian homes and strapping dead bodies to U.S. Army vehicles as a tool of intimidation.
He reenlisted in April 2007 and was promoted to sergeant in December 2007. According to a 2012 interview done by activist media Cuzdcrow, Vassey said that he grew disillusioned with the war after seeing several of the commanders in Iraq — who he said “really screwed up” — lead the war in Afghanistan. Facing another combat tour, he chose to go AWOL.
“It was basically Canada or go back to Afghanistan. So, I went and came to Canada,” Vassey said in 2012. Vassey went AWOL in July 2008 and crossed into Canada one month later. He told interviewers that he regularly checked in with immigration officials in Canada and was working as a construction worker in Ontario.
Prior to his guilty plea on Thursday, Army Criminal Investigation Division had told Task & Purpose it was not actively investigating his case.
Desertion convictions can lead to a variety of punishments. Peacetime desertion can result in several years of prison time. The United States has not charged anyone with wartime desertion since the end of World War II; that charge can lead to the death penalty. In that same 2012 interview, acknowledged he faced a court martial if he returned to the United States. He said that as someone who had been AWOL for five years he faced five years in prison. It’s not clear how much prison time he faces after 16 years in Canada.
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