Navy Captain Will Face Trial on Charges of Child Sexual Abuse, Assault

A 27-year Navy officer will go to general court-martial in June, accused of attempting to seduce and sexually assault a child under the age of 16, Military.com has learned.

Capt. Alan Damian Dorrbecker, a submarine warfare officer assigned to Submarine Force Atlantic, is charged with three specifications of sexual abuse of a child and four of sexual assault of a child, as well as counts of violation of a general order and conduct unbecoming an officer, according to officials with Navy Region Mid-Atlantic.

The officials said Dorrbecker does not have a civilian attorney and that his military counsel did not want to make a statement on his behalf.

The officer is accused of arranging to meet the teen on two occasions for sex and sending her inappropriate messages via email containing descriptions of sexual acts.

The alleged crimes took place in late 2015, when Dorrbecker was assigned to Naval Forces Europe in Naples, Italy, according to his career service record. He had already attained the rank of captain.

According to a charge sheet reviewed by Military.com, Dorrbecker sent his alleged victim a series of emails in August and September that contained graphic sexual content including "male-on-male sexual assault, solicitation of prostitution in Thailand, and a former shipmate's obsessive masturbation."

Other emails allegedly included descriptions and discussions of a wide variety of sexual acts, including bestiality, sadism and masochism.

In November 2015, Dorrbecker is accused of emailing the victim sexual messages indicating a desire to meet.

"I want to hold you close, feel your skin, gently caress your cheek, smell the fragrance of your hair," read one such message, according to the charge sheet.

On two separate occasions, once in November and once in December 2015, Dorrbecker is accused of meeting the victim without her parents' knowledge and attempting to commit multiple sexual acts on her. He used his government-issued Blackberry phone to arrange the meeting, the charge sheet alleges.

Dorrbecker's alleged activities "disgraced him personally and seriously compromised his standing as a Naval Officer," the document states.

Dorrbecker is a decorated officer, according to his record of service, with awards including the Legion of Merit and Meritorious Unit Commendation. He previously commanded the Los Angeles-class submarine USS Greeneville from 2007-2009, and was subsequently assigned to the office of the Chief of Naval Operations from 2010-2012.

While Dorrbecker was commander of the Greeneville and stationed at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, in 2009, his son Matthew was arrested and accused of a disturbing crime.

Matthew Dorrbecker, then 20, was charged with felony aggravated cruelty to animals after Kittery policy found evidence he had strangled a cat and used its blood to write a message on the sidewalk. "Stop please. He made me. My mind," the message read, according to a 2009 AP report. Matthew Dorrbecker would ultimately admit to the crime, but never offered a public explanation for his actions.

Alan Dorrbecker detached from Naval Forces Europe and arrived at Submarine Force Atlantic in December 2015.

Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, charges of sexual abuse and sexual assault of a child can each carry a potential sentence of up to 20 years' imprisonment.

Dorrbecker's court-martial is set to begin in June, officials said.

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at@HopeSeck.