A chief petty officer from the destroyer Donald Cook who was arrested by Irish police in connection with the alleged sexual assault of a shipmate has been released to the Navy without charges, a spokesman for Naval Forces Europe said. The Navy will pursue the investigation.
"The Sailor was released without charges by Irish authorities on March 23, 2017, to the U.S. Navy," said Capt. Pamela Kunze in an email. "The Navy is investigating the incident."
The alleged assault occurred during a liberty visit by the Rota, Spain,-based destroyer to the southern port of Cobh. The victim was a third class petty officer from the command.
The military does not have a status-of-forces agreement with Ireland, which would have provisions that limit the jurisdiction of local authorities over crimes committed by U.S. service members on their soil. Still, the chief's release came after a U.S. request that he be turned over to the Navy for adjudication.
An early internal report said the victim was escorted to the hospital to provide a sexual assault evidence kit and has made a statement to the local police. The Navy Criminal Investigative Service is involved in the investigation, the report said.
The alleged sexual assault was witnessed by another member of the Donald Cook's crew, who reported the incident to the command, the report said.
David B. Larter was the naval warfare reporter for Defense News.
