*Update: This article has been updated to include a statement from the Army Criminal Investigation Division.
An Army major faces sexual assault-related charges involving at least 20 alleged victims in the Washington D.C. area over a roughly three-year period.
The Army’s Office of Special Trial Counsel confirmed to Army Times Thursday that the office preferred three charges that include 76 specifications of sexual assault-related charges on Oct. 16 against Maj. Jonathan J. Batt, who is assigned to the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center in Crystal City, Virginia.
A military preliminary hearing officer at a Nov. 1 hearing recommended that the charges against Batt be referred court-martial, officials said, and the special trial counsel office will make the final call as to whether the charges go forward.
The Army declined to provide Batt’s charge sheet and additional details about the offenses.
Batt faces 14 specifications of rape, 20 specifications of sexual assault, three specifications of abusive sexual contact, 15 specifications of aggravated assault by strangulation, one specification of aggravated assault by suffocation, 22 specifications of assault consummated by a battery and one specification of obstructing justice, Office of Special Trial Counsel spokesperson Michelle McCaskill told Army Times.
The alleged offenses took place between December 2019 and February 2023 in the Washington, D.C. area, McCaskill said.
Batt’s civilian defense attorney, Phil Cave, declined comment Thursday.
“We intend to represent him vigorously and we have no further comment at this time,” Cave said in a statement.
McCaskill referred further questions to CID. Special Agent Mark Lunardi told Army Times that Batt’s “remains an active and ongoing investigation.”
Batt was being detained at a military detention facility in Chesapeake, Virginia, as of Thursday, officials said.
Batt commissioned after attending the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 2007, officials said. As an infantry officer, he deployed to Afghanistan four times and was previously assigned to the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 5th Ranger Training Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, 75th Ranger Regiment and 3rd Infantry Regiment.
The major’s awards include two Bronze Star Medals, two Meritorious Service Medals, four Army Commendation Medals, 7 Army Achievement Medals and various other awards.
Correction: This article has been updated to reflect the date a preliminary hearing officer recommended charges against Batt be referred to court martial.
Todd South has written about crime, courts, government and the military for multiple publications since 2004 and was named a 2014 Pulitzer finalist for a co-written project on witness intimidation. Todd is a Marine veteran of the Iraq War.
