Army Maj. Jonathan J. Batt has been accused of sexually assaulting 20 people over the course of more than three years, said Michelle McCaskill, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Army Office of Special Trial Counsel.
Each of the military branches has established its own special trial counsel’s office since 2024 to prosecute serious criminal offenses including domestic violence, sexual assault, and murder.
On Oct. 16, the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel preferred 14 specifications of rape, 20 speciation’s of sexual assault, three specifications of abusive sexual contact, 15 specifications of aggravated assault by strangulation, one specification of aggravated assault by suffocation, 22 specifications of assault consummated by battery, and one specification of obstructing justice against Batt, McCaskill told Task & Purpose on Friday.
It is too early in the legal process for the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel to provide Task & Purpose with a copy of Batt’s charge sheet, McCaskill said.
The alleged sexual assaults took place between Dec. 1, 2019 and Feb. 17, 2023, with most of the alleged offenses taking place in the Washington, D.C. area, McCaskill said.
“The first allegation made against Maj. Batt was reported to the Alexandria Police Department,” McCaskill said. “The APD [Alexandria Police Department] notified the Department of Army Criminal Investigation Division, which initiated a joint investigation. CID’s subsequent investigation revealed additional allegations involving multiple victims.”
Army Times first reported on Thursday about the charges against Batt.
The investigation is still open and anyone who has information is encouraged to contact CID, McCaskill said.
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CID Special Agent Mark H. Lunardi provided Task & Purpose with a brief statement about the case: “This matter is under active investigation by Army CID and we are therefore unable to provide additional details at this time.”
Although Batt was initially placed in pretrial confinement, he was later released, McCaskill said.
“At a pretrial confinement review hearing on Nov. 1, a Military Judge ordered Maj. Batt’s release from confinement after determining that the government had not demonstrated that lesser forms of restraint were inadequate to protect the community and assure Maj. Batt’s presence at trial,” McCaskill said. “Since charges were preferred in this case, Maj. Batt has complied with all orders of his commander.”
Batt is currently assigned to Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Virginia, McCaskill said. His preliminary hearing was held on Oct. 30 at Fort McNair in Washington D.C., and on Nov. 4, the preliminary hearing officer recommended that the charges against Batt be referred to a general court-martial.
The Army Office of Special Trial Counsel will now determine whether to refer the charges, McCaskill said. If it does, Batt will be arraigned before a military judge, who will set the trial date.
Batt is being represented by attorney Nathan Freeburg of the Cave & Freeburg LLP law firm,” said Phil Cave, a spokesman for Batt’s defense team.
“Now that the Article 32 hearing has been completed, we expect a referral decision soon,” Cave told Task & Purpose on Friday. “There will not be further comment for the moment.”
Batt has served as an infantry officer since May 2007, and he is currently assigned to the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center in Crystal City, Virginia, according to the Army. He has made four deployments to Afghanistan: From August 2009 to August 2010; from June 2019 to August 2019; from October 2019 to December 2019; and from March 2020 to May 2020.
His previous assignments included serving with the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg — now Fort Liberty — North Carolina, from September 2008 to July 2011; and with the 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning — now Fort Moore — in Georgia from May 2019 to June 2020.
Batt’s military awards include two Bronze Star Medals, two Meritorious Service Medals, four Army Commendation Medals, seven Army Achievement Medals, the National Defense Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with two campaign stars, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, NATO Medal, and Valorous Unit Award.
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