NEW LONDON, Conn. - A night of heavy drinking last spring resulted in a U.S. Coast Guard Academy cadet becoming pregnant and accusing a classmate of rape, witnesses testified Tuesday at a hearing to determine whether the classmate should be court-martialed.
Webster M. Smith, 22, a Houston native who played football for the academy, has been accused by seven female cadets of misconduct ranging from improper touching to rape between May and November 2005.
The two-day hearing, the military equivalent of a grand jury, ended Tuesday after Smith declined to speak and his attorneys decided not to call any witnesses. The investigating officer has one week to recommend whether Smith should face a court-martial.
The rape charge against Smith involves a woman who witnesses described as his on-again, off-again girlfriend. She testified in secret, but her best friend testified publicly about the night of the alleged attack in June 2005.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/cadet_sex_charges
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