Army colonel who accused Joint Chiefs vice chair nominee of sexual assault comes forward

Army colonel who accused Trump’s nominee for Joint Chiefs vice chair of sexual assault comes forward to publicly tell how he ‘groped, kissed and ejaculated on her in a hotel room’

  • Army Col. Kathryn A. Spletstoser spoke publicly for the first time on Friday
  • Detailed her allegations against Air Force Gen. John E. Hyten
  • Said Hyten kissed her and ejaculated on her pants in hotel room in 2017
  • Hyten is Trump’s nominee for vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff 
  • He oversees the country’s nuclear arsenal as the head of Strategic Command
  • He denies Spletstoser’s allegations of sexual misconduct

Army Col. Kathryn A. Spletstoser, 51, detailed her allegations in an interview on Friday

An Army colonel has spoken out publicly for the first time with her allegations of sexual misconduct against an Air Force general who has been nominated as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. 

Army Col. Kathryn A. Spletstoser, 51, detailed her allegations against Air Force Gen. John E. Hyten, 60, the commander of United States Strategic Command, in an interview with the New York Times published on Friday.

It comes one day after the Senate Armed Services Committee said that Hyten’s public confirmation hearing will be held on this coming Tuesday.

The Senate committee had previously heard Spletstoser’s claims behind closed doors as his confirmation is weighed, but this is the first time that she has been publicly identified.

She said that on several occasions, Hyten tried to kiss her, hug her and touch her inappropriately while in her office or on trips, leading up to an encounter in a Simi Valley, California, hotel room on December 2, 2017. 

Gen. John E. Hyten, 60, is due to face a public confirmation hearing for vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Tuesday. He denies Spletstoser's allegations

Gen. John E. Hyten, 60, is due to face a public confirmation hearing for vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Tuesday. He denies Spletstoser’s allegations

Hyten and Spletstoser were both in town for the annual Reagan National Defense Forum, and she says that she was putting on her face cream that night when he knocked on her door.

Spletstoser says Hyten sat on the bed and motioned for her to sit next to him, and then pulled her to him and kissed her on the lips while pressing himself against her, then ejaculated, getting semen on his sweatpants and on her yoga pants. 

Spletstoser said she was appalled when Hyten ejaculated, and she went into her hotel bathroom and threw a towel at him, telling him to clean himself up.

She said he went into the bathroom and stayed there for several minutes before coming out to apologize and ask if she would report him.  

‘I was distraught,’ she told the Times. But ‘who was I going to report it to? Secretary Mattis? Really? All I was trying to do was just survive and not have my life ruined.’ 

Hyten denies her allegations of inappropriate touching. In June, an Air Force official charged with investigating her complaint declined to refer General Hyten to a court-martial.

Spletstoser says Hyten tried to kiss her, hug her and touch her inappropriately while in her office or on trips, leading up to an encounter in a Simi Valley, California, hotel room

Spletstoser says Hyten tried to kiss her, hug her and touch her inappropriately while in her office or on trips, leading up to an encounter in a Simi Valley, California, hotel room

The Air Force’s investigation into the allegations did not unearth any emails, text messages or other supporting evidence, according to a DoD source cited by the times.

An administrative inquiry into Spletstoser in 2018 includes remarks from her colleagues at Strategic Command that she was ‘toxic’ in her dealings with both subordinates and superiors, according to the Times.

‘Col. S. says things in meetings that could be perceived as disrespectful to senior officers and civilians,’ the administrative inquiry quoted a rear admiral as saying. ‘I have not seen Gen. Hyten correct her bluntness nor interruptions to seniors.’ 

Hyten currently oversees the country’s nuclear arsenal as the head of Strategic Command, and if confirmed he would be the No. 2 military officer in the country. 

The accusations against Hyten come at a time when the Pentagon has had an unusual amount of turmoil in its senior ranks, with only an acting defense secretary for the past six months. 

One of President Donald Trump’s nominees for that position recently withdrew after details of his contentious divorce surfaced. 

Earlier this month, an admiral selected to be the top Navy officer withdrew due to what officials said was an inappropriate professional relationship.

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk