Isn't it just glorious?
We knew something was wrong when she came back from the trip because she wasn't acting like herself and was having trouble being out with friends immediately. She also told us the sex was scary. We didn't know about the rape/sexual assault until she knew she had to contact the base after continued threats and erratic and unstable behavior, she told us she was going to have to tell them what he did to her. It took months for us to learn the details, and lots of crying and alcohol. We knew she had been concerned about his mental health during deployment from things she had started to witness before he deployed. He had started to use drugs again, his behavior was slightly erratic and she wasn't sure if it was fear or his mental health. He was saying how they would tell them women would cheat and break up with them during deployment all the time, and things like his facebook page saying his political view was "killing bodies." (Click here)
But before we go into the story know that this Marine had a criminal record for drugs before he enlisted. (Click here) He told our friend this month's after they started dating and had said he was clean. However this Marine continued to do them along with several other Marines while they served our country under the guise of heroes.
Our friend flew out to San Diego to see who we will refer to as Cpl. Cookie. He barely acknowledged her while they were with his fellow Marines, but once in the car and out of sight of the barracks the sexual assault started, without her consent and her begging him to stop, but he wouldn't. Because it was uncharacteristic and she didn't know what to do since he was drunk, she was forced into a situation she never thought she would be in. Fearful for herself and others on the road she was forced to engage in sexual acts at a rest stop, because he refused to stop and told her he wouldn't wait.
The Marine's behavior the rest of the night was completely mentally unstable, after his first sexual assault he then told her he had to play hard to get, then assaulted her again in many ways, which included: forcing alcohol down her throat several times against her will, violent behavior and attempts at sodomy and other details we will not go into.
When she was able to get away from him right before he sodomized her, he started screaming "it was kill myself or join the Marines", "I blew people up", "I don't know what's wrong with me", and that women had always rejected him, were some of his statements. He kept screaming these things and crying until he passed out. Our friend was concerned that something had happened to him; possibly he had been raped or had PTSD, because everything was so out of character.
He told her the next day when she confronted him he didn't remember anything. Only months later to tell her in a message things he had said.
She found out almost a year later, when being laughed at by a Sgt. Maj., that this was a premeditated move and tactic she fell for, and she hadn't told him what was said or what Cookie did, he told her. She had called him after being told by a SAPRO advocate he was the Inspector General (which an NCO would never be, but she didn't know), and was trying to report violations of the UCMJ that NCIS didn't care about but went along with his change in character and included terrorist threats and a $2000 theft of donation from Marvel Comics, which they never did anything about, just to name few things.
The Sgt. Maj. from Camp Pendleton, said to our friend, who he was laughing at, "What did this guy do rape you then start crying boo hoo I killed people and you fell for it and didn't go to the police, that's your fault. Have you ever heard of crocodile tears, you ate his up. He was going for the Academy Award and you were his Oscar." She called us immediately after because the conversation was too bizarre, and she had been sent to this guy.
That was the hardest pill to swallow because until that point she still believed he had a mental illness or had been raped on deployment, but the Marines admitted to her what he did was tactical and planned. So her boyfriend of two years that she took care of and waited for while he was overseas, had premeditated her rape and how to get out of it. And the Marines didn't care, and gave him the skills to do it, and then ignored it.
Cpl. Cookie continued this erratic behavior the rest of the trip asking her why people cared about him, refusing to drive, and not watching TV, but staring into space the first few days and barely talking to her. Over the next month and a half his behavior continued to be unstable and became threatening, including terroristic threats she has provided to the Marines. She warned him several times she was going to contact his base and that she felt he needed to talk to somebody and get help.
Cpl. Cookie became so hostile with her through text messages and in a conversation on the phone then acted like she was crying to his friends, that she warned him she was contacting Camp Pendleton the next day. And now we know why he didn't care, because he knew they would do nothing.
When she called the Sgt. Maj., who we will refer to as Marshmallow Head (since jar head would be a compliment), his first words were "you have to realize you sound like the crazy ex-girlfriend", and that all he had received from her were a few vague emails. He had already talked to Cpl. Cookie, who at the time was a Lcpl, and had shown him her some text messages but not his. Cpl. Cookie had sent her an email telling her this and also admitting to being suicidal and other things he said during his breakdown. He also made other admissions that he would lie about later to his Sgt. Maj. She has provided this message to the Marines. This would also warrant fraudulent enlistment since upon enlistment you have to sign off on not being suicidal or having those thoughts, and also him making false statements to his command about the other matters.
She proceeded to tell Marshmallow Head that he hadn't heard her side of the story. We would like to say at this point that he was the first person she had told what happened which was very hard for her to do. As she proceeded to tell him what Cpl. Cookie did she was told his radar was down and that he misunderstood what the Marines told him because they had said not to be aggressive with women. Her rape/sexual assault were being called "aggression." This along with the threats, suicidal admissions and other violations of the UCMJ and our friend was told at the end of the conversation, there was nothing they would or could do for her. She was never told she could press charges, she was told that there was absolutely nothing they would do.
Marshmallow Head then told her that he was working out talking to her and hadn't taken any notes, could she email him what she said. And that was her one and only phone conversation with this Marine. This is relevant because she finds out over a year later that he lied in statements to the Marines about what happened claiming there were subsequent phone conversations with her, she refused to press charges, and he told her to go to the police, all untrue. He also stated in his report that he asked her for more details on the sodomy but she wouldn't talk about anything, again completely untrue.
The one and only phone conversation they had wasn't mentioned in the report at all. He told her her rape/sexual assault was nothing and they would do nothing, and hadn't even take notes. Not only weren't the police mentioned, but according to military law NCIS should have been contacted, this never happened.
And if this were true they would have had to have her sign a statement saying she wouldn't press charges. Sexual assault/rape is supposed to be taken so seriously by the Marines that if Marshmallow Head had heard what happened to her from anyone he was supposed to contact NCIS. And this Marine's sexual "aggression" should have been documented.
The rest of their communication was kept to emailing and she has provided this evidence as well to the Command at Camp Pendleton. Two days after she spoke with him she sent a 10 page letter outlining what was said and it included the sexual assault/rape once again.
Sent to our friend from the Sgt. Maj. in an email after she sent the report he requested, and she had already told him about the rape over the phone. He clearly doesn't say anything about her about pressing charges. Her phone records show a significant phone conversation occurred days before this was sent. But again they never mention it in the report.
Ma'am:Two weeks after her conversation with Marshmallow Head, a threat was posted on facebook by Cpl Cookie's mother stating our friend might be prosecuted. Concerned and confused she emailed Marshmallow Head, who told her via email the Marines weren't doing anything to her or Cpl Cookie. He told her he didn't know what Cookie was saying to people and didn't care. She was concerned about her name, which they posted, being slandered and also his mental state if he were making up things to this extreme since she wasn't communicating with him.
I got your email and letter and will review each of them later this week. Thank you for taking the time to write them.
Thank you.
An excerpt from an email from Marshmallow Head when questioning why Cpl Cookie's family was saying she may be prosecuted. And again this was after he told her they would do nothing when she reported the sexual assault. Notice he CAPITALIZED 'NOT'! He didn't offer for her to press charges. The full emails have been given to NCIS and the Marines.
With matters of you being prosecuted, I have no idea what he might be saying or not saying. I can tell you that we are NOT pursuing any legal actions against him or you.Two months later Cookie was promoted to Cpl.
Thank you.
She had also inquired about the missing $2000 donation and other issues he was supposed to look into, but she continued to be ignored and was then told Cpl. Cookie had made false statements to Marshmallow Head, he didn't care, even though she had the evidence to prove it.
She had to go to Congressman Mark Critz, who serves on the Armed Forces Committee and subcommittee for oversight and investigation, whose predecessor was the late Congressman John Murtha a Marine and someone who held them accountable. Critz has proven not to take the honor of the Marine Corps seriously and admitted, in both a letter and to a State Senator, after a year of dealing with the case, that the Marines mishandled everything but would do nothing, and neither did he. No one was ever held accountable for ignoring the rape or the rapist. So much for honor, civil rights and protecting an American citizen.
She would have gone to the police but it was across the country and also involved the military, she didn't know what to do and was asking for help and guidance.
When Critz office received our friend's letter and information through a supporter of Critz, they didn't even read it. She had to call them months later and they freaked out screaming "Oh my God he did what to you", over and over again as they read it while on the phone with her. They insisted on taking it to the Pentagon due to the severity of her evidence and what she had reported.
It's important to note that Critz's office is full of military and no one knew to call NCIS or what should be done. It also took them a month to go to the Pentagon.
The Pentagon reacted within four hours of getting the letter, telling her caseworker that they could tell he had mental problems but they couldn't force him into help. They were supposed to contact Camp Pendleton the next day. And they never mentioned NCIS.
However, within 5 days her rapist was in Special Ops/Marsoc training/tryouts. This is also proof that Marshmallow Head didn't report the rape/sexual assault in any way and that Cpl. Cookie was never disciplined at all or he wouldn't have made it to tryouts. No NJP's or Page 11's. And his drug usage present and past wasn't documented or admissions of being suicidal. So both Marshmallow Head and Cpl. Cookie had lied and signed off on paperwork, another federal offense, so much for Marine honor. And the assault wasn't documented, there is actually a question on the form about sexual assault.
Commanding Officer's Screening Checklist, 20 August 2010
Weeks after contacting the Pentagon, Critz office received a letter telling them they couldn't see his medical records, which was odd since they never asked to see them. The sexual assault/rape and other violations of the UCMJ aren't mentioned. But this letter shows how the Pentagon ignores rape by the Marines.
Our friend had started to research things via internet and found out this was a huge problem in the military. Sexual assault/rape was an epidemic, and they ignored them all the time. Camp Pendleton seemed to be one of the biggest offenders, and she was experiencing that first hand with substantial evidence. She realized NCIS should have been contacted from the first time she reported it. Critz office said they would support her, then never did a thing and didn't even watch her case.
Regarding the next part know that the NCIS you see on TV is nothing like the real NCIS, think more Keystone Cops, but it isn't funny.
After emailing NCIS and not getting a response for weeks, she called the hotline as well. Days later she finally got a call telling her their emails weren't working right and there were problems. The agent told our friend she was definitely sexually assaulted and that they would call her in a few weeks to check in and that an agent handling her case would call within two weeks.
Three weeks later and not a word from NCIS, and the number they called her from no one was answering and there was no way to leave a message. She had to call SAPRO at the Pentagon to get help in contacting NCIS. They were supposed to be emailing the Dept of the Navy regarding not only the rape/sexual assault, but also the fact that it was ignored and the mental instability of this Marine. After almost another week she was put in touch with her agent who claims to have sent her case to an office that she had to tell him didn't exist. Another congressman's office that got involved said they believe the delay was done on purpose.
NCIS didn't take her statement until two months after her initial contact. They waited over a month and a half after that to talk first to his Marine friends, then almost four months from her initial contact to interview the rapist, and that was weeks after his friends were interviewed.
She was never offered help by the Marines and had to keep asking about getting an advocate. Her NCIS agent admitted to not having a background in sexual assault, not knowing what to do regarding local law enforcement, and didn't keep in touch with our friend. They did tell her once that they were delaying her already delayed case because "more important things came up" and told her advocate they couldn't wait until her case was over.
Several disturbing things happened before NCIS started their investigation at Camp Pendleton.
First the SAPRO advocate, that wasn't much help and had given our friend a lot of false and bad information, looked into a military protective order. The day after, Marshmallow Head randomly handed the letter our friend had sent him over eight months before to an NCIS agent that had come into his office. He didn't say he had it for over eight months or that there was a sexual assault reported. The agent called our friend who asked him what Marshmallow Head said to him when he gave him the report, and the answer was nothing just to look into it and the agent had found it odd how it had happened. She also asked the agent to warn her agent handling the case that this had happened since Marshmallow Head had not only ignored her but had been allowing Cpl. Cookie to read her correspondence with him. This was too suspicious and she was concerned about them prepping her rapist. Instead her agent talked to Marshmallow Head and didn't find it odd that the day after an MPO was looked into, he randomly handed her report to an agent eight months later, not saying a word. Instead he fed him information.
She was concerned that her investigation was going to be impeded and had ask Critz caseworker about going to the police, to which he told her not to because of the severe mental problems they thought Cpl. Cookie had. At that point she wasn't aware it had all been a tactic and not mental instability. He told her not to do it. She had just asked her advocate as well and she had to look into it, then a week later her advocate lied in an email and told our friend NCIS couldn't do it. But our friend had already checked with her agent who wasn't sure but said he was told if she went to the police NCIS had to stop their investigation. Which was another lie, they could still investigate.
You would think our friend was the first sexual assault victim Pendleton ever had, unfortunately she is one of God knows how many thousands of women just in that year alone. How did no one know what to do? And the best part was when she originally reported it it was sexual assault month on the Marines' Sexual Assault Awareness day! The Marines claim they train their commands. If they couldn't handle this how do we let them go to war?
Concerned about having to start all over again, worried about this Marine doing hard time with harder criminals because she was still under the belief he was mentally ill, and also not knowing what to do across the country she stayed with NCIS. Critz caseworker assured her with what she had something would be done.
We want to stress that she never said she was going to the police, she just asked should they be involved, and she has emails to prove this. She found out eight months later through an outside advocate, who was trying to find out what was going on with her case, the judge advocate on base had closed her case, stating she went to the police. The case was buried and they had to find it and the only thing it said was that she chose to go to the police. Since she never talked to the judge advocate and never signed off on this, which according to military procedures she would have had to, she has no idea how this happened.
The judge advocate works hand and hand with NCIS, who started the investigation a month after the case had already been closed. Critz office was involved and didn't know the case was closed. Critz office also wouldn't do a congressional inquiry. They allowed the Marines to investigate this themselves, not an official congressional inquiry. And again our friend learned this months and months later through an outside advocate not the congressman's office that was supposed to be watching it and knew it had been mishandled.
She waited and waited for reports and answers. Cpl. Cookie pulled out of his lie detector test that he had two weeks to think about and lawyer up for, and the Marines wouldn't allow our friend to take one.
The other congressman's office that got involved received only one report that was full of false official statements that they could identify. They questioned the extreme length of time the Marines were taking and the fact that they never took a statement at all from our friend and never wanted any evidence regarding how it was ignored and what Cookie had done.
She was threatened again by this Marine's mother directly in an email, but the Marines didn't find this odd or care.
They had already deployed him a second time before they told our friend they were doing nothing. Critz told our state senator that "they had the Marines on the wire for mishandling the case, and something would be done."
A week later she found out from the advocate that her case had actually been closed before an investigation started. And a week after that got a letter from Critz, stating the Marines mishandled things but weren't going to do anything, the opposite of what he told a state senator two weeks prior.
Her file had disappeared to SAPRO at Quantico and she wasn't officially informed by the Marines until two months after her rapist deployed that nothing was being done. This delayed going to the police for, which we believe was done specifically so she couldn't.
No procedures were followed at all according to Marine protocols. The evidence that she provided to the Marines didn't mean a thing. The terroristic threats, the unstable behavior, theft, suicidal admissions, and the most important violation of the UCMJ, her rape/sexual assault and the fact it was ignored.
Cpl Cookie is about be let out of the Marines as a hero and on our tax dollar getting the GI Bill and VA benefits. He is armed with the knowledge of how to get away with rape.
The Marines did nothing to help our friend but did everything they could to not only make sure Cpl Cookie got away with rape, but also how to get away with it. The U.S. Marines have become nothing more than criminals and a danger to society.
Unless there is a major and I mean major upsetting incident with many witnesses, the military is a universe unto itself that protects it's own. Over site is scant at best especially when dealing with combat troops. I served and know. They have ways of punishing those non conformers that make no sense.