NAVAL STATION NORFOLK, Va. — A board of inquiry unanimously ruled recommended Wednesday that a fired commanding officer accused of propositioning one of his junior officers should be busted a rank and booted out of the service with former cruiser skipper accused of offering a junior officer her surface warfare pin in exchange for sex bereduced to O-5 and kicked out of the service with an other-than-honorable discharge.
The board of inquiry recommended Capt. Brian Sorenson be forced to retire as an O-5 with a discharge that could diminish his will likely still be able to retire but if the decision is upheld by Navy Personnel Command and the Secretary of the Navy, the other-than-honorable discharge willaffect the 25-year surface warfare officer's veterans benefits and pension. The final ruling on his career will be made by Navy Personnel Command and the office of the Navy secretary.
Sorenson and his attorney Greg McCormack, a retired Army judge advocate, argued for two days that the female officer victim had propositioned Sorenson, and that a series of inappropriate incidents and conversations overheard by the crew of cruiser Anzio were misconstrued. amounted to misunderstandings. The panel of three reard admirals was unconvinced, despite Sorensen's adamant denial under oath that he had solicited her the female officer for sex. He also denied that he had grabbed her buttocks at a bar during a wardroom function.
Sorenson was dumpedousted as the commanding officer of cruiser Anzio in September and found guilty at captain's mast in January for sexual misconduct, sexual harassment and conduct unbecoming. In trying to persuade a panel to retain Sorenson, McCormack told the panel that the junior officer was struggling to attain her SWO qualification and had encouraged plotted to loosen Sorenson up with booze before pressuring him to qualify her. The attorney also asserted she had encouraged Sorenson's advances and that it was ultimately she who solicited sex.
Sorenson’s career began to unravel Aug. 30, when he and several junior officers assigned to the Norfolk-based Anzio attended a "wetting down" party at a bar in Yorktown, Virginia. He is accused of engaging in two highly inappropriate conversations with the woman who worked for him, allegedly propositioning her for sex, according to a Navy investigation report.
The investigation also found that the day after the wetting down, Sorenson invited the accuser to the captain's cabin, shut the door and asked her directly if she would have sex with him if he would qualify her as a SWO.
Navy Times is withholding the name of the accuser due to As a policy, Navy Times does not to publish the names of alleged sexual assault victims.
Sorenson alleged at the board of inquiry that it was the accuser who came up to him and told him, "I'll do whatever you want," and went on to discuss sexual acts. He recalled going before listing a number of sex acts she'd be willng to do with him. He then went outside with her, where they were overheard discussing sex. and were seen by crew members having a conversation. One crew member, who went outside the bar to talk to his grandmother on the phone, told investigators he heard Sorenson ask if she was "interested in anal sex."
Sorenson acknowledged this conversation was inappropriate. He was unable to say why he had spent an hour talking to her alone outside the bar after she had, according to him, allegedly propositioned him for sex. Throughout the proceeding, Sorenson was unable to had no answers for why he decided to speak to the accuser for nearly an hour alone outside the bar after she had allegedly propositioned him other than he discounted it and conceded it was probably poor judgement. He also acknowledged discussing sex acts with her and acknowledged it was inappropriate.
The panel also questioned Sorenson's judgment to invite the junior officer to a private meeting in his captain's cabin the next day. Sorenson told the panel he had by then discounted the alleged proposition. Likewise Sorenson didn't have a good answer for why he invited her into his cabin and shut the door the next day, saying again that he had decided to discount the alleged proposition and allow her to move on to her next command.
Sorenson and his attorney spent hours painting a picture of the accuser as a struggling JO with a sordid history of sexual promiscuity. But the panel seemed to agree that unproven allegations of sexual habits had little relevance to Sorenson's conduct as CO. At one point, Sorenson told the panel that the woman had told him that while at the Naval Academy's prep school she had between 50 and 60 sexual partners.
But the panel At that point, the government's attorney objected and the admirals on the panel seemed to agree that the unsubstantiated allegations of sexual promiscuity had little relevance to the facts of the investigation.
Sorenson also testified that on a two occasions the victim had dressed inappropriately at command functions and had to be counseled on proper attire.
The investigating officer concludedfoundthat the victim had no motive to lie about the sexual assault and harassment, but at the board of inquiry, McCormack implied seemed to be suggesting that she was angling for a disability rating based on sexual trauma at Sorenson's expense.
In his closing statement, McCormack harped on the victim's evolving statements to witnesses in the command investigation about the encounter with Sorenson at the bar and in his cabin the next day.
The government's attorney, Capt. D.J. Hansen, told the panel in his closing argument that the panel's decision in this case would be closely watched.
"People will be watching and the impact of this will extend beyond these proceedings."
The panel, which was composed of Rear Adms.irals Randy Crites, David Lane and John Polowczyk, deliberated for just over an hour before returning their recommendation.
Sorenson is a Naval Academy graduate and 25-year Navy veteran. A reduction to an O-5 could reduce his annual pension payment by over more than $11,000 before taxes.
The final decision on his career will now goes to decision. Their recomendation will go to Navy Personnel Command and will ultimately be decided by Navy Secretary Ray Mabus.
David B. Larter was the naval warfare reporter for Defense News.
