Another MP this time a sergeant is convicted of a crime:

A court-martial jury found an Army sergeant guilty Friday of indecently assaulting a private earlier this year on Camp Casey.

The nine-member jury found Sgt. Anthony Medellin Jr. guilty of the indecent assault and two specifications each of maltreatment and disobeying orders, but cleared him of two additional specifications of maltreatment.

The jury sentenced Medellin to reduction in rank to E-2; three months hard labor without confinement; two months restriction to his barracks, dining facility or place of worship; and forfeiture of all pay and allowances for two months.

This sergeant ended being another convicted criminal that ended up having time reduced from his sentence due to the chain of command imposing pre-trial punishment on the sergeant:

But because military judge Col. Gregory Gross credited Medellin with 34 days credit for time served for pre-trial punishment he received, officials said there would be some reduction in his sentence. <…>

Medellin testified that when he was moved from Camp Casey’s 55th Military Police Company to the 94th MP Company at Yongsan after he was accused of the assault, there was no room ready for him in the barracks, and he was forced to spend the night sleeping in his uniform at a desk.

He said he was deprived of his personal property for about two months because it had not been shipped.

He also said he was confined to Yongsan, restricted from drinking and his chain of command made him remove the green leadership tabs from his uniform on the second day of the court-martial.

Gross said there was “no legitimate reason” for Medellin to have received the punishments and reduced his sentence 20 days for being deprived of his property, 10 days for being restricted from drinking, one day for sleeping at the desk and three days for losing his leadership tabs.

Gross also said Medellin could not be forced to forfeit more than one third of his pay since he was not being confined.

These infractions leading to criminals receiving less punishment is a reoccurring issue I see happening over and over again.  There needs to be some kind of training for commanders and first sergeants to educate them about how to treat soldiers accused of crimes.  Bottom line is that soldiers and innocent until proven guilty and deserve to be treated that way.