A Marine colonel facing charges of child sexual assault and abuse has been sent to the brig after new allegations of wrongdoing.
Col. Daniel Wilson, 55, the former operations officer for II Marine Expeditionary Force, was ordered to pre-trial confinement today after new allegations of misconduct were reported to Naval Criminal Investigative Service in the course of the investigation into his previous alleged wrongdoing, according to an announcement from II MEF.
Military.com broke the news in November that Wilson, a 36-year Marine officer, faced charges including three counts of sexual assault and sexual abuse of a child; four counts of assault and battery on a child under age 16; one count of failure to obey an order or regulation; and nine counts of conduct unbecoming an officer. According to a source with knowledge of the investigation, the alleged victim was six years old.
The unit didn't immediately respond to a Military.com request for information about what new allegations surfaced that resulted in Wilson's imprisonment.
Wilson had been removed from his job but allowed to continue working under II MEF aboard Camp Lejeune, North Carolina ahead of his first Article 32 investigative hearing. In light of the new allegations, the commanding general of II MEF, Maj. Gen. Walter Lee Miller Jr., ordered that Wilson be remanded to the brig.
According to the announcement, the Article 32 hearing to determine what sort of trial Wilson will face is currently scheduled for Jan. 31 aboard Camp Lejeune. The officer has two military defense attorneys, Lt. Col. Ben Ackison and Capt. Mark McCormick, and one civilian lawyer, Phillip Stackhouse.
"Wilson is presumed innocent of any alleged offenses and will be afforded the opportunity to defend himself against all charges," Lt. Col. Michael Armistead, spokesman for II MEF, said in a statement.
-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.
