An Army special forces task leader is under investigation over allegations that he demoted a soldier over a fight in Syria, then sexted that soldier’s girlfriend.
Sgt. Maj. Chuck Ritter has been accused of sexting and sharing explicit images with Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Regeimbal’s now-wife, Kate.
Ritter and Kate’s interactions began in August 2021 after she confronted Ritter at a North Carolina bar.
She alleged he had been ‘trashing her fiancé in a group chat with other Special Forces soldiers,’ Connecting Vets reported.
Regeimbal had been the subject of multiple investigations, amid allegations of steroid use and racist text messages.
Those claims were made after Ritter dismissed him from his post in Syria in 2019. The soldier allegedly had an altercation with a warrant officer and was sent back to Fort Bragg in North Carolina a few weeks earlier than his command.
Following the investigations, Regeimbal was stripped of his Special Forces tab. It remains unclear if the allegations against him were ever substantiated.
Shortly after his demotion, Kate and Ritter began communicating with each other.
Sgt. Maj. Chuck Ritter (left) is under investigation over allegations that he demoted Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Regeimbal (right) over a fight in Syria and then later sent sexual messages to the soldier’s girlfriend
Ritter and Kate, who was now married to Regeimbal, were initially in communication to discuss her husband.
However, their conversations evolved and became sexual in nature, including the sharing of inappropriate images.
Chat logs between the pair, which were reviewed by Connecting Vets, revealed the messages appeared to be between ‘two consenting adults’.
Kate also gave contradicting information about her relationship status, according to the chat logs, and in one conversation told Ritter that she and Regeimbal had separated.
In another conversation she revealed that they had wed and were living together.
Ritter – who declined to comment to the news outlet about the messages, citing an ongoing Army investigation – also alleged Kate told him she was single when they started their text relationship.
Regeimbal allegedly had an altercation with a warrant officer in Syria in 2019 and was sent back to Fort Bragg in North Carolina a few weeks earlier than his command
Regeimbal (third from left) became the subject of multiple investigations, amid allegations of steroid use and racist text messages. Following the investigations, Regeimbal was stripped of his Special Forces tab. It remains unclear if the allegations against him were ever substantiated
An investigation was launched into Ritter after Regeimbal reportedly discovered chat logs between the sergeant and his wife.
He reported the messages to his chain of command at 3rd Special Forces Group and to the Special Warfare Center Inspector General, prompting a probe into Ritter.
While under scrutiny from his superiors, Ritter allegedly contacted Kate, saying: ‘I got a call from my CSM recently that Reggie was filing a complaint and opening an investigation on me.’
He instructed Kate to ‘delete everything,’ according to a recording of their phone call which was obtained by the news outlet.
‘Facebook messages and all of that,’ he added.
The sergeant also suggested that Kate delete their personal message and call logs.
Regeimbal discovered the messages between Ritter (second from left) and his wife and altered his superiors, prompting an investigation into the sergeant
Additionally, Ritter told Kate he felt that Regeimbal was retaliating against him for their sexts and over the belief that he played a role in the soldier’s revocation.
Ritter asserts he was not involved with the disciplinary action against Regeimbal.
Special Warfare Center Janice Burton confirmed their command ‘is looking into the allegations made against SGM Ritter’ and declined to give the news outlet further details, noting: ‘Following that process, I could give you more information.’
Although Ritter has not spoken about the allegations against him, he did tell Connecting Vets he welcomes the probe.
‘I am open for the investigation, I am not above the law,’ he said. ‘If they think I need to be punished so be it. None of us are beyond reproach.’
None of the parties allegedly involved in the probe immediately responded to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk