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Sexual Offender
Conviction Records
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An Unofficial Site
Of United States Military
Sexual Offender
Conviction Records
Not Associated With The U.S. Military Or Government
Terry McCollum
Staff Sergeant U. S. Air Force
Convicted Sex Offender
Rape Indecent Acts Of 11 Year Old Child
Name: Terry McCollum
U.S. V. McCollum No. 02-0474
Date Of Appeal: April 30, 2003
Plea: Not Guilty
Charges: Rape, indecent acts with a child under the age of 16, carnal knowledge
Military Branch: U.S. Air Force
Listed In National Sex Offenders: No
Appellant was tried by a general court-martial composed of a military judge alone. Contrary to his pleas, Appellant was convicted of rape, indecent acts with a child under the age of 16, and carnal knowledge, on divers occasions in violation of Articles 120 and 134, Uniform Code of Military Justice [hereinafter UCMJ], 10 U.S.C. §§ 920, 934 (2000), respectively. Appellant was sentenced to a dishonorable discharge, eighteen years' confinement, and reduction to E-1. The convening authority approved the sentence as adjudged. The Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the findings and sentence.
In 1999, Appellant met SK over the Internet. Eventually, the two began a romantic relationship and, at Appellant’s request, SK and her four children moved from Connecticut to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, to live with him in his base housing. Because of the number of people in the house, SK’s 11-year old daughter, CS, slept on the couch in the living room. One night, SK awoke, entered the living room, and found Appellant naked, sexually aroused, and poised over CS. SK testified that "as I approached him even more, I saw him naked and her panties were down and he was kissing on her and I just exploded in an outrage." Some days later, during an argument, Appellant admitted to SK to having sexually assaulted CS on another occasion. SK then called the police and reported that Appellant had raped CS.
Appellant married RM in September 1991. In 1996, RM’s sister, MW, came to stay with the couple for one month during the summer. MW was 14 years old at the time of the visit and was described by her mother as "mildly mentally retarded." Because of MW’s condition, RM saw to many of her sister’s needs.
One morning, between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m., RM entered the living room and found Appellant and MW watching television. Appellant was lying on the couch in his underwear, and MW was lying on the floor in her nightgown. The nightgown was "up above her waist," exposing her panties, and MW was rubbing her stomach. The scene disturbed RM, but she eventually went back into her room and went to sleep. Later that morning, RM asked MW whether anything had happened earlier with Appellant. After some hesitation, MW became emotional and began to cry. RM confronted Appellant in the bathroom, asking him whether he had had sex with MW earlier that day. When he initially denied having sex with her, RM asked him, "[W]hy would she [(MW)] say that it happened[?]" Eventually, Appellant admitted to having had sex with MW, saying, "Yeah, okay."
RM and Appellant had several more confrontations about the event. No other people were present during the discussions. During one of these conversations, RM expressed her fear that MW might be pregnant. In response, Appellant told her that he did not ejaculate during the sexual encounter with MW. Out of fear that MW might be pregnant, RM took MW to a clinic for a pregnancy test.
Sometime thereafter, Appellant went to Saudi Arabia for several months on temporary duty. When Appellant returned home, the couple again discussed the incident with MW. RM testified that during one of these conversations, Appellant said that he "was trying to get his life together and trying to live right, and live better than he had been in the past. He had started reading the Bible a lot[.]" She further stated, "I just remember us having a conversation about him just trying to start over and you know take responsibility [for] the things he did in the past, and he mentioned telling my family about what happened and telling his, and you know, just taking responsibility for it." She also added that he specifically wanted to tell his mother what had happened. In response, RM told Appellant that she did not want him to tell her family.
Appellant was thereafter charged with rape and indecent acts with a child, in violation of Articles 120 and 134. At one point during Appellant’s trial, trial counsel moved to allow CS, then 12 years old, to testify from a remote location via two-way closed circuit television, as authorized by M.R.E. 611(d). Defense counsel contested the motion, arguing that trial counsel had not met the requirements of M.R.E. 611(d)(3) and Craig. Defense counsel also argued that there was insufficient evidence to establish that CS would suffer such trauma that she would be unable to testify in Appellant’s presence. Allowing CS to testify outside of Appellant’s presence, asserted defense counsel, would therefore violate Appellant’s Sixth Amendment right to confront a witness against him. In the alternative, Appellant volunteered to withdraw from the courtroom during CS’s testimony, as permitted by M.R.E. 611(d)(4), if the military judge found that the requirements of M.R.E. 611(d)(3) and Craig had been met.
