Brian N. Berg - Staff Sergeant - U.S. Air Force, Convicted Sex Offender

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Name: Brian N. Berg

Case: United States v. Berg

Date Of Conviction: April 15, 2004

Plea: Guilty

Charges: Forcible Sodomy Of A 5 Year Old Child

Military Branch: U.S. Airforce

Listed In National Sex Offenders Registry? YES - Here

Sentence adjudged 15 April 2004 by GCM convened at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota. Military Judge: Glenn L. Spitzer (sitting alone). Approved sentence: Dishonorable discharge, confinement for 26 years, and reduction to E-1.

The appellant stands convicted, in accordance with his pleas, of one specification of rape of a child under 16 years of age; two specifications of forcible sodomy of a child under 12 years of age; and two specifications of indecent acts with a child under 16 years of age, in violation of Articles 120, 125, and 134, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. §§ 920, 925, 934.

Each offense was committed on divers occasions, over a period of at least three years. The appellant was sentenced by a military judge sitting alone as a general court-martial to a dishonorable discharge, confinement for 26 years, and reduction to the grade of E-1.The convening authority approved the findings and sentence as adjudged.

While eventually concluding that the appellant’s overall rehabilitation potential was “excellent,” Dr. Frank’s testimony took a number of detours that were not especially helpful to the defense team. For example: Dr. Frank admitted that the appellant’s conduct met the clinical definition of a pedophile; opined that the appellant had difficulty with self-control and respecting the feelings of others; and noted that the appellant sought to justify his behaviors.

Although some of the clinical tests Dr. Frank administered to the appellant were suggestive of a low potential for recidivism, others suggested the appellant was being dishonest in his responses. Finally, Dr. Frank admitted that the appellant’s actuarial appraisal would have been comparable with that of Jeffrey Dahmer, a well-known sex offender and serial killer

The appellant’s military record was muddled. The appellant’s performance reports for the most part reflect very good duty performance, but they are, when considered in their entirety, by no means exceptional.

Further, it is impossible to evaluate the appellant’s military career without noting that the appellant began sexually abusing a five-year-old child about six months after donning the uniform. This conduct, the appellant admitted, was “the antithesis” of good order and discipline – a judgment with which we concur