Victim in AFA rape case doesn't want 'nice guy' prosecuted

The accuser in a rape case involving two Air Force Academy cadets testified Thursday at an evidence hearing that she doesn't want her classmate, whom she called a "nice guy," prosecuted for the alleged assault.

The woman's testimony against Sean Callahan took up most of the morning in a hearing to determine whether there is enough evidence to court-martial the senior cadet.

The woman, also a senior cadet, said Callahan entered her room in August 2007 while she was sleeping. She awoke, she said, to find him trying to have sex with her.

"I immediately froze," she testified. "I said, ‘Sean please don't do this.' He was really, really drunk."

The Gazette does not usually name victims in sexual assault cases.

Prosecutors have charged Callahan with burglary, rape and underage drinking but haven't been able to determine key facts in the case, including what day it occurred.

The alleged assault was not reported immediately by the accuser, who told friends she'd been attacked, but didn't talk with authorities until rumors about it sparked an official inquiry last May.

After the incident, the woman said she maintained friendly relations with Callahan and worked with him on a class project.

"I was in denial," she said under cross-examination by Callahan's civilian defense attorney, Greg McCormick of Virginia.

The woman said she had gone to bed early and was sleeping when a man came into her room. She said she was able to identify her attacker from the glow of a night light.

Callahan left after she told him several times to stop, the woman testified.
Afterward, the woman said she cried herself to sleep.

She told no one about the alleged attack for days, until she took a precautionary pregnancy test that came up negative, the woman said.

McCormick worked to show inconsistencies in the woman's story and quizzed her on why she didn't cry out for help to her roommate, who was sleeping nearby when the alleged rape happened.

"As you're sitting here right now, do you want this cadet prosecuted for rape," McCormick asked.

"No, sir," the woman responded.

Investigating officer Maj. Vlad Shifrin will recommend to commanders at the academy whether Callahan should be court-martialed. If convicted of the rape, Callahan would face a maximum sentence of life behind bars.

Five years ago, the academy faced intense scrutiny after dozens of female cadets said their claims of sexual assault by other cadets were mishandled or ignored by commanders.

In recent years, the academy has changed how it handles assaults and has been praised for its programs aimed at preventing attacks and helping assault victims.

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Contact the writer: 636-0240 or tom.roeder@gazette.com