FORT SILL, Okla. – On Nov. 8, Staff Sgt. Maneul A. Erb, 39, was convicted of sexually abusing a family member and sentenced by a military judge to 11 years in prison.
The abuse occurred when he was stationed at Fort Sill, Okla., between Sept. 2021 and Sept. 2022 when the victim was 12 years old.
The investigation of this case was initiated after the victim confided to her friend about the abuse and her friend’s mother reported it to local law enforcement in Lawton, Okla. The authorities immediately contacted the Department of the Army Criminal Investigative Division and together they conducted a thorough investigation.
“The U.S. Army and the prosecution team have been committed to justice on this case since day one,” said Maj. Wayne Janoe, lead prosecutor, Fourth Circuit, Army Office of Special Trial Counsel. “We may have never had the opportunity to hold the perpetrator accountable if the mother of the victim’s best friend hadn’t had the courage to raise the alarm to law enforcement.”
Specifically, Erb was found guilty of two specifications of sexual assault of a child, two specifications of sexual abuse of a child, and one specification of providing a false official statement.
In addition to his prison sentence, the military judge also reduced Erb to the rank of E-1 and imposed a dishonorable discharge. He will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison and will be subject to federal and state sex offender registration requirements.
“Army CID Special Agents work diligently to prevent and investigate serious crimes while holding accountable those who prey on children and commit criminal acts,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Maria E. Thomas, Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division’s Central Texas Field Office. “CID is committed to keeping Army communities safe while working closely together with OSTC to foster trust and confidence in the judicial process.”
Oklahoma Interviewing Services, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization specializing in child forensic interviews, played a crucial role in this case assisting with obtaining information from the victim within days of her disclosure of the abuse.
“We couldn’t have secured this conviction without their high-quality work,” Janoe said.
“It requires the vigilance of the entire community to keep these children safe and we are thankful for the opportunity to get justice for this child so she can continue down the path toward healing,” he added.
The investigation was conducted by the Lawton Police Department and the Army CID’s Fort Sill Resident Field Agency. The case was prosecuted by Janoe and Cpt. Griffin Pardales, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, U.S. Army Fires Center of Excellence and Fort Sill.
The Army Office of Special Trial Counsel is comprised of specially trained military lawyers, legal professionals and support staff responsible for the expert and independent prosecution of murder, sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, kidnapping and other serious criminal offenses. Headquartered at Fort Belvoir, Va., OSTC has eight regional headquarters which oversee 28 field offices located across the country to include Europe and Korea.
| Date Taken: | 11.21.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 11.21.2024 09:24 |
| Story ID: | 485822 |
| Location: | FORT SILL, OKLAHOMA, US |
| Web Views: | 47 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Army Non-Commissioned Officer Found Guilty of Sexual Assault, Abuse of a Child, by Michelle McCaskill, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
