The former vice commander of the 50th Space Wing has been charged with rape, adultery, assault, among other lewd acts which include taking photos of his genitals while in uniform.
Col. Eugene Marcus Caughey, currently assigned to Air Force Space Command at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, was charged Dec.10 with various misconduct dating back to 2013, according to his charge sheet.
He was charged with rape and assault at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado, in late 2014 or early 2015 after he used "unlawful force" to hold the victim "against the wall and floor" while committing a sexual act, the documents reveal.
Caughey, a 23-year Air Force veteran, committed six counts of adultery between 2013 and 2015, in violation of Article 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. One charge with two specifications in violation of Article 133, conduct unbecoming of an officer and gentleman, of the UCMJ states Caughey around 2014 or 2015 held "his erect penis in his hand while in uniform and seated in his office, proceed[ed] to take a picture of himself."
Caughey has been charged with unlawfully groping women on two other occasions, according to court documents.
The Air Force did not immediately grant a request by The Associated Press to speak with Caughey or his attorney, and a spokesman at Peterson said the military will not answer questions about the case.
"To protect the rights of Colonel Caughey and the integrity of ongoing legal proceedings, no other information about the case will be released at this time," spokeswoman Lori O'Donley at the 21st Space Wing said in an email to Air Force Times.
Caughey, formerly second in charge of the 50th Space Wing at Schriever, is a survivor of the Sept. 11 terror attack on the Pentagon, according to a Schriever release. The 50th Space Wing oversees navigation and communication satellites.
Caughey is scheduled for a March 17 Article 32 hearing to determine if the charges brought against him are sufficient for a military court martial.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Oriana Pawlyk covers deployments, cyber, Guard/Reserve, uniforms, physical training, crime and operations in the Middle East, Europe and Pacific for Air Force Times. She was the Early Bird Brief editor in 2015. Email her at opawlyk@airforcetimes.com.
Follow her on Twitter @Oriana0214.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Military prosecutors have charged an Air Force colonel in Colorado with rape, assault and adultery, according to court documents released Thursday.
Col. Eugene Caughey, currently assigned to Air Force Space Command at Peterson Air Force Base, was charged with misconduct dating back to 2013.
Caughey is accused of raping a woman at Schriever Air Force Base, also in Colorado, in late 2014 or early 2015 while "holding her against the wall and floor using physical strength or violence," the documents state.
Prosecutors also said the 23-year Air Force veteran committed adultery several times, photographed his exposed genitals while in uniform, and groped women on two occasions.
"To protect the rights of Col. Caughey and the integrity of ongoing legal proceedings, no other information about the case will be released at this time," Capt. William Russell wrote in an email to the Colorado Springs Gazette.
Caughey and his lawyers told the AP through the Air Force that they did not want to comment.
Caughey was formerly second in charge of the 50th Space Wing at Schriever. The unit oversees navigation and communication satellites.
The Gazette reports he was an up-and-coming space officer whose responsibilities had included running a 22-nation missile defense wargame in 2014 for U.S. Strategic Command.
He is a survivor of the Sept. 11 terror attack on the Pentagon, according to a story on the Schriever Air ForceBase website.
"I was a captain inside the Pentagon that morning when a plane crashed into the west side of the building," Caughey wrote on the website.
Caughey is scheduled for a March 17 hearing to determine if there is sufficient evidence for a court-martial.
