Marine sergeant pleads guilty to mistreating subordinates

NORFOLK

A Marine staff sergeant pleaded guilty Tuesday to mistreating 17 male subordinates by touching them in the groin, repeatedly making offensive sexual comments and gestures, and accusing them of being gay.

Staff Sgt. James McCoy could have faced 17 years in prison for the offenses; a judge sentenced him to a year in confinement, reduction in rank and a bad conduct discharge.

McCoy was the noncommissioned officer in charge of a training company at the Navy's Northwest Annex, a base in rural Chesapeake. It was his job to oversee Marines - many of them teenagers fresh out of boot camp and infantry school - waiting to begin a security training course at the base. He was also in charge of injured Marines placed on medical hold who were waiting to return to duty or be processed out of the service.

It was in that capacity that McCoy admitted to regularly "sack-tapping" his subordinates, which was defined in court as hitting someone in the genitals with the front or back of the hand.

He also played what his attorneys referred to as games of "gay chicken," in which he would put his hand on a subordinate's thigh or other body part to see what the Marine would do and to deliberately make him feel uncomfortable. He told the judge he did that with numerous subordinates while on duty and in various places on base: his office, his car, and in the barracks where junior personnel lived.

All the recipients of his abuse were several ranks below him. According to military law, each case of "maltreatment" of a subordinate - an act considered cruel, oppressive or sexually harassing - is punishable by up to a year in prison.

McCoy also acknowledged making homosexual taunts to more than a dozen Marines - ranging from "Does your mother know you're gay?" to telling them it was OK to come out of the closet.

Navy Capt. Moira Modzelewski, the military judge at the Norfolk court-martial, methodically went through each of the 17 counts of maltreatment, each with a different victim, asking McCoy what motivated him. Invariably, he responded: "To embarrass him," "To make him feel uncomfortable" or "To degrade him."

One incident went past making suggestive comments and hitting Marines in the genitals. McCoy confessed to showing a subordinate a cell-phone video of a man giving another man oral sex.

In response to questioning from the judge, McCoy said his behavior belittled the Marines he was supposed to lead, and may have resulted in physical and mental pain.

However, his attorneys' line of questioning during the sentencing phase of the court-martial - and McCoy's own unsworn statement at the end - seemed intended to portray his actions as less than criminal. They asked witnesses whether sack-tapping was unusual among Marines of equal rank and implied that Marine Corps Security Forces Training Company had a culture of joking about homosexuality.

"You heard gay jokes in the school of infantry, right?" Lt. Drew Carmichael asked one of the lance corporals subjected to McCoy's abuse. "You've been sack-tapped several times outside this incident, right?" he asked a moment later.

A defense witness - a lance corporal who spent more than a month under McCoy's command - testified that Marines at the base wrestled with their superiors during close quarters combat training, so physical contact wasn't unusual between Marines of different ranks. He also said that jokes about homosexuality were common at the command. "I'm not sure why the joke was funny, sir, I was just following along."

In an unsworn statement, McCoy told the court there was no justifiable reason for his actions, and apologized.

"I've learned my lessons," he said. "These games and antics have cost me my career, and I assure you it would not happen again."

That statement prompted Modzelewski to question McCoy's guilty plea.

"What you pled guilty to was maltreatment of 17 subordinates over a period of months," she said. "Was it abusive, or was it antics?"

"It was abusive, ma'am," McCoy replied.

In exchange for McCoy's guilty plea, the government dropped 24 other charges against him, including 14 counts of sexual misconduct and three counts of assault.

Marine Capt. Adrienne Strzelczyk, the prosecutor, urged the judge not to dismiss McCoy's behavior as a case of "boys will be boys."

"His behavior is unacceptable by any measure," Strzelczyk said. "The Marine Corps is not a frat house." She asked for a sentence of 18 months in jail.

Carmichael asked the judge to limit McCoy's confinement to one month.

At worst, Carmichael said, Staff Sgt. McCoy was a bully, "similar to a senior on a high school football game bullying the freshmen."

But perhaps McCoy's actions weren't even that bad, he said. Maybe they showed he was trying to be buddy-buddy with his Marines, but went about it in a completely wrong way.

Various bosses and fellow staff sergeants testified on McCoy's behalf, saying he was a hard working, dedicated Marine. A Florida minister who's known McCoy and his wife for more than 15 years said they are dedicated parents to their six children, and he would trust McCoy with church members.

Master Gunnery Sgt. Glen LeMire testified by phone that McCoy was one of the hardest-working sergeants he's worked with during 22 years of service. Asked if his opinion of McCoy had changed since the criminal charges, LeMire paused.

"I'd still ask for McCoy in a heartbeat," LeMire said. "Yes, sir, I'd serve with him again."

Kate Wiltrout, (757) 446-2629 kate.wiltrout@pilotonline.com,