False Sexual Assault Claim

A false sexual assault claim can ruin a Soldier’s life and career.  Unfortunately, many believe that false claims either don’t happen, or happen so rarely that it is not a concern.  These individuals typically ask “why would anyone put themselves through the judicial process by making a false sexual assault claim?”  For those that believe this, the recent case of United States v. Neubauer, No. S32308, slip op. at 1 (A.F.Ct. Crim.App. Mar. 10, 2016) (link to slip op.) should be a mandatory read.

The opinion details the nature of the false sexual assault claim and the resulting sentence.  In this instance, the appellant was sentenced only to 4 months of confinement, forfeiture of $1,031 pay per month for 12 months, and a bad-conduct discharge.  A pretrial agreement in the case capped her confinement to just 84 days.  Had her false sexual assault claim been believed, what type of sentence do you believe the service member would have received?