The US military has charged defector Travis King with a number of offenses including desertion for sprinting to North Korea in July – as well as solicitation of child pornography and other crimes since at least the past year.
The wide-ranging case against King, who spent more than two months in the custody of North Korean law enforcement, includes eight different charges under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, according to court records obtained by Reuters.
The military claimed the private intended to leave his military duty permanently when he abandoned his post in South Korea by running across the demilitarized border into the totalitarian state.
He “remains absent in solitary confinement until on or about September 27, 2023,” when the hermit government released him back to the US, court records state.
Army indictments accuse King of widespread misconduct before his defection to North Korea, including an attempt to escape from US military custody in October 2022.
Travis King has been charged by the US military with fleeing to North Korea in July, as well as solicitation of child pornography and other crimes since at least the past year. VIA REUTERS
King is also accused of possessing child pornography and soliciting other individuals via Snapchat to “knowingly and willingly produce child pornography” the same month he fled to North Korea, according to the charges.
The Wisconsin native was also charged with assault for allegedly targeting fellow soldiers and dissidents for leaving his base after curfew and drinking alcohol in violation of Army regulations, the document said.
The soldier’s family has stood behind King since he went on the run in July, saying he should be “given the presumption of innocence.”
King was seen arriving in San Antonio on September 28, 2023 after being released from North Korea weeks after he crossed into the country. CNN
“The man I raised, the man I dropped off at boot camp, the man I spent the holidays with before deployment didn’t drink,” his mother, Claudine Gates, said in a statement.
“A mother recognized her son, and I believe something happened to me while he was deployed. The military promised to investigate what happened at Camp Humphreys, and I await the results.”
The family has hired a legal team to defend him including Franklin Rosenblatt, who served as the lead military defense attorney during the court-martial proceedings against Bowe Bergdahl, the Army sergeant who was held for five years by the Taliban after deserting his post in Afghanistan. in 2009.
A TV screen shows a file image of U.S. soldier Travis King during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea on August 16, 2023. AP
Details are still scarce about King’s treatment in North Korean custody and the soldier has not publicly explained why he fled to one of the world’s most closed countries.
King was supposed to be at the airport waiting for a flight to Texas before making the final trip home when he escaped.
He faces military disciplinary charges – as well as dishonorable discharge – back in the US after he was charged with two counts of assault.
King is accused of punching a man in the face several times at a club in September 2022 and then, two weeks later, damaging the back seat of a police car in a lewd tirade against Koreans after he was arrested for displaying “aggressive behaviour. .”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
