Morris T. Cobia - U.S. Army - Convicted Sex Offender - Indecent Liberties With 11 Year Old Child

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Name: James Sherrill

Case: United States v. Sherrill No. 04-3225

Date Of Appeal: March 1996

Plea: Guilty

Charges: Indecent Acts On A Minor

Military Branch: U.S. Army

Listed In National Sex Offenders Registry? NO

Contrary to his pleas, appellant was convicted by a military judge of two specifications of rape, two specifications of forceful sodomy with a child, indecent acts with a child, and adultery, in violation of Articles 120, 125, and 134, Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 USC §§ 920, 925, and 934, respectively.

The convening authority approved the sentence of a dishonorable discharge, 20 years’ confinement, total forfeitures, and reduction to the lowest enlisted grade. The Court of Criminal Appeals found the evidence to be insufficient to convict appellant of either specification of forceful sodomy, but approved both of the lesser included offenses of attempted sodomy.

On July 19, 1995, appellant’s 13-year-old stepdaughter, C, told her mother that appellant had engaged in sexual intercourse with her 1 day earlier. This prompted appellant's wife to notify the military authorities, who, in turn, contacted the civilian child welfare authorities in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Appellant was arrested and charged with sexual offenses and incarcerated pending trial.

He pled guilty in March 1996 in the North Carolina state court to five felony counts, including incest, indecent liberties with a child, child abuse, and sex acts with a minor by a parental substitute.

Two (rape and sodomy) of the six specifications in this case relate to events that occurred on July 18, 1995. Both appellant and the Government agree that appellant was tried at court-martial for the same offenses he pled guilty to in state court.

At trial, C testified that she had known appellant since 1993, when they were living in Germany. C testified that appellant began inappropriately touching her, but eventually advanced to fondling her genitals, that was so painful she would tell appellant to stop. Despite C’s request, appellant continued the abuse. According to C’s testimony, within a matter of days, the abuse had progressed from fondling to appellant’s attempted, and ultimately successful, sexual assault..

C testified that on July 18, 1995, she approached appellant, who was lying on the couch, and laid across his stomach. Appellant began taking off C’s shorts and underwear and then began undressing himself. He requested that C sit atop him in a straddle position to allow sexual assault. After a few moments, appellant carried C upstairs and sexually assaulted her..

C's testimony was corroborated by C’s mother, who was also appellant’s wife. Mrs. Cobia, who was a Specialist in the Army at that time, testified that a few months before the events of July 18th, she whipped C with a belt for repeatedly missing the school bus.

After the whipping, Mrs. Cobia asked C if her "husband [had] been having sex with [C]." Mrs. Cobia testified that she had suspected abuse because C had been behaving in "suspicious" ways. C admitted appellant had been abusing her. When Mrs. Cobia confronted appellant with C’s revelation, he "[broke] down crying and he was telling me – you know – basically why he did it or what happened – what led up to it, as far as me rejecting him and not wanting to have sex with him, and just not wanting to talk to him."