Woman claims AFA cadet raped her after party

An Aurora woman told a hearing officer on Monday morning that an Air Force Academy cadet raped her during a night of partying in May.

The woman’s testimony came during a proceeding to determine whether cadet Kyle Cressy, a senior on the soccer team, will face a court-martial on charges of aggravated sexual assault.

Cressy was one of three Air Force Academy cadets charged in late 2011 in connection with separate sexual assault cases.

A similar hearing — known as an Article 32 hearing — was held last week for cadet Stephan Claxton, who faces charges of abusive sexual contact, wrongful sexual contact, assault and underage drinking.

Cadet Robert M. Evenson Jr., who helps run the academy’s honor system, is charged with raping a fellow cadet and using his position in the honor system to extract sexual favors from a female cadet. A hearing in that case is pending.

On Monday, the woman told Lt. Col. Jon Burgess that the rape happened after she returned to the academy’s dorms with several cadets.

The woman, who said she was heavily intoxicated, told Burgess she passed out on Cressy’s bed and awoke to a man touching her inappropriately. She said she swatted his hands away several times and again passed out.

Later, she woke up to a man having sexual intercourse with her. The woman said she never said “no,” kissed him once and passed out after the act. She reported the sexual assault two days later.

“I was in and out of consciousness,” she said. “It was very minimally registering what was going on.”

The Gazette does not usually print the names of alleged sexual assault victims.

Burgess will offer a recommendation to Air Force Academy leaders on whether to send the case to a court-martial. A ruling is not expected for several weeks.