CLEVELAND — A Coast Guardsman was sentenced by military judge to five months confinement and a bad conduct discharge for assault in a special court martial at the Coast Guard 9th District in Cleveland, Monday.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Joshua M. Raymond was found guilty of violating Article 128 (assault consummated by battery) of the Uniform Code of Military Justice for his actions toward a fellow service member during a party in Wauwatosa, Wisc., on Nov. 27, 2013.
Raymond will serve his sentence at the Naval Consolidated Brig in Chesapeake, Va. As part of his sentence, Raymond was reduced in rank to Seaman Apprentice.
Previous charges of attempted sexual assault and unlawful sexual contact were dismissed persuant to a pre-trial agreement. The agreement also resulted in Raymond receiving an other-than-honorable discharge.
Rear Adm. Fred Midgette, commander of the 9th District, referred Raymond’s case to general court-martial July 14, 2014, following an Article 32 hearing, held on June 11, 2014, which is similar to a civilian grand jury hearing. The case was re-referred to a special court-martial pursuant to a pre-trial agreement on Dec. 19, 2014
Raymond is an operations specialist assigned to the engineering division at Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan, located in Milwaukee.
The Coast Guard is committed to a fair proceeding in compliance with the UCMJ. It is Coast Guard policy to withhold the identity of reporting victims.
