— An Annapolis alderman who was charged with a sexual crime and assault on a 21-year-old Naval Academy midshipman denied the allegations Wednesday and said he would fight them in court.
Police charging documents said Alderman Samuel Shropshire touched a male midshipman's crotch last week in a car. Shropshire, a 61-year-old Democratic candidate for Annapolis mayor, was charged Tuesday with second-degree assault and a fourth-degree sex offense, police said.
The accusation "is untrue, it's unfounded and it's unfair," Shropshire said while reading a statement at a news conference in Annapolis. "I did not take part in the actions I am accused of, and I know I will be found innocent of the accusation."
Shropshire, elected city council alderman in 2005, had sponsored the midshipman under a Naval Academy program designed to give students a break from their rigorous military studies, his lawyer said.
Although the program has been around for decades, it has led to complaints before.
The (Baltimore) Sun reported in 2007 that investigative documents, which it had obtained, indicated at least 15 midshipmen said they were victims of some kind of sexual misconduct in their sponsors' homes or at the hands of sponsors.
Cmdr. Joe Carpenter, an academy spokesman, said there are 1,600 sponsors in the program and all applicants are checked through sex offender and criminal record databases. Carpenter described the program as positive, giving midshipmen a chance to interact with the community.
"Allegations of sponsor misbehavior are extremely rare," Carpenter said.
Shropshire's attorney, Gill Cochran, said in an interview that the charges against his client are "untrue, unfair and unjust" and will be opposed in court.
According to police, Shropshire and the midshipman were in the car at about 11 p.m. when the alderman placed his hand on the man's "crotch and grabbed his genitals" for about 30 seconds. The midshipman pushed Shropshire's hand away, police said.
After Shropshire again touched his crotch, the midshipman asked him what he was doing and the alderman apologized, the 21-year-old told police. The midshipman then got out of the car.
He told police he has known Shropshire since 2007. Cochran said Shropshire had acted as an academy sponsor to the midshipman "until recently." The Associated Press does not identify victims of sexual assault.
No court dates have been set, Cochran said.
He added that he doesn't know how the allegations will affect Shropshire's bid for mayor in the 2009 primary.
"We'll have to sort through that," Cochran said.
In a separate case, a Navy doctor who hosted students at his house as part of the program was sentenced last year to two years in prison and kicked out of the military for setting up a secret camera to record midshipmen having sex.
Cmdr. Kevin Ronan maintained midshipmen made the tapes to extort money from him.
No comments:
Post a Comment