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USNS Medgar Evers Duty-Bus Touching Report Was Declined as a MEJA Case.

A USNS Medgar Evers civilian mariner told NCIS that a coworker caressed her leg on a Bahrain duty bus until she grabbed his hands and told him to stop. The accused denied touching her, and the Department of Justice declined federal prosecution after concluding the conduct did not meet the felony sexual-assault threshold under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act.

Abusive Sexual ContactUSNS Medgar EversBahrainCivilian MarinerDuty BusAlcoholMEJADOJ Declination

This page summarizes one Naval Criminal Investigative Service case file. The source PDF and optical character recognition transcript appear below so readers can compare the summary against the record.

Allegation

Abusive Sexual Contact

Location

USNS Medgar Evers Duty Bus / Bahrain

Key date

Incident May 5, 2016

Outcome

DOJ Declined MEJA Prosecution

What the NCIS File Says

A female civilian mariner aboard USNS Medgar Evers reported that another civilian mariner touched her on a duty bus in Bahrain. She said he boarded the bus around 2300, sat beside her in the back, caressed her right calf, and moved his hand slightly above her knee until she grabbed his hands and told him, "Don't do that again, don't ever do that again."

The accused admitted drinking before boarding the bus but denied physical contact. NCIS interviewed the reporting person with Victim's Legal Counsel present, reviewed the accused person's command statement, noted alcohol as a factor, and documented victim services, SARC notification, and the lack of a SAFE exam or crime-scene documentation.

Legal review became the central issue. Region Legal Services Office said the matter would be referred under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act because the accused was a civilian, but the Department of Justice concluded the conduct may have been simple assault and did not meet the felony sexual-assault threshold under federal law. The case was declined for federal prosecution and closed.

Case Timeline

May 5, 2016

The alleged contact occurred on the duty bus between NSA Bahrain and Khalifa bin Salman Port.

May 8, 2016

NCIS received the report and interviewed the reporting person.

May 11, 2016

NCIS received the accused civilian's command statement.

May 2016

RLSO and DOJ reviewed the matter for possible MEJA prosecution.

May 2016

The case was declined for federal prosecution and closed.

Why This Record Matters

The record gives a specific account of unwanted touching on a duty bus, not just a broad misconduct label.
Because both involved people were civilians overseas, the accountability path ran through MEJA rather than ordinary command punishment.
The federal declination rested on statutory threshold analysis, illustrating a gap between reported misconduct and prosecutable felony sexual assault.

NCIS Source Document

This is the NCIS Report of Investigation for the USNS Medgar Evers T-ake 13 file. MLAA has preserved the source PDF, Bates range, and NCIS file number so readers can inspect the record directly.

First page preview for USNS Medgar Evers Duty-Bus Touching Report Was Declined as a MEJA Case.

First page of the NCIS case file.

Source type: NCIS investigation file
Command or vessel: USNS MEDGAR EVERS T-AKE 13/29002
NCIS file number: 10MAY16-MEBJ-00215-8MNA/C
Bates range: 0093-0095
Source file length: 3 pages

View NCIS Source PDF for Case 10MAY16-MEBJ-00215-8MNA/C

Readable OCR Transcript

The transcript below reproduces the substantive report text from the NCIS file in readable form, including the executive summary when one appears in the source. Paragraph numbers come from the original report. Redactions are shown as [REDACTED]. Because the text was generated from OCR, verify exact quotations against the source PDF.

NARRATIVE

1. This limited investigation was initiated pursuant to an alleged violation of Title 18 U.S. Code 2244 (b) (abusive sexual contact-in other circumstances).

2. This investigation was initiated on 08May16 after NCISRA Bahrain received information from [REDACTED], USNS MEDGAR EVERS (T-AKE 13), advising of the report of the See sexual assault of [REDACTED], USNS MEDGAR EVERS, by [REDACTED], USNS MEDGAR EVERS, that occurred on 05Mayl16 at app Soe Fog hours whilapfe), y7nicwas seated on the duty bus on Naval Support Activity (NSA) Bahrain. According to details provided from [REDACTED] icand subsequent ly(u[REDACTED] OSMay16 [REDACTED] Cwas the duty rider for the bus for the MEDGAR EVERS that traveled from the Khalifa bin Salman Port to NSA Bahrain from approximately 2030 through 0100 [REDACTED] seated at the back of the bus with her back against the window and her right leg folded under her [REDACTED] booarded the bus at approximately 2300, on board NSA Bahrain, and sat beside[REDACTED] additional passenger was seated on the bus behind the bus driver [REDACTED] started caressing [REDACTED] right calf and worked his way up to slightly spove her knee [REDACTED] caropped her cellular phone while reaching down with both hands and grabbed [REDACTED] hands [REDACTED] then tol [REDACTED] Don't do that again, don't ever do that again! "b)¢é yimmediately apologized and stated, "I'm so sorry!, I'm so sorry!" (b a 1 nee a8 additiona [REDACTED] Hetweem(s [REDACTED]and herself by moving her lower body further toward the window in which her back was pressed upon. According to [REDACTED] 4 [REDACTED] 145 [REDACTED] (sat at the edge of the seat and did not move or say anything. [REDACTED] relat ed(é), (o) (appeared like he was dosing off during the bus ride to the pier. Alechol was a factor in the incident asg [REDACTED] noted(é) [REDACTED] smelled like he had consumed alcohol. Upon arrival to the Khalifa Bin Salman Porth[REDACTED] yexited the bus without further incident. [REDACTED] lLater reported the incident to members within her Command [REDACTED] provided a statement to his command wherein he admitted that he had consumed alcohol, however he denied touchingp[REDACTED] manner.

3. On 08May16, Reporting Agent (RA) interviewed [REDACTED] presence of [REDACTED] JAGC, USN, Victim's Legal Counsel (VLC), NSA Bahrain, regarding captioned investigation [REDACTED] provided a sworn statement FOR orrrcran Se ONLY detailing the alleged sexual assault, as related above, that occurred on 05May16 at approximately 2300 hours, Exhibit (1) pertains.

4. On 11May16, RA was provided with a copy of the statemenityé [REDACTED] provided to his Command regarding the captioned investigation. A review of the statement revealed(é [REDACTED] consumed alcohol prior to boarding the duty bus on 05Mayl6 at approximately 2300 [REDACTED] yeelated he sat in the back of the bus and had a conversation with [REDACTED] denied having any physical contact with [REDACTED] during the ride to the port, Exhibit (2) pertains.

5. RA sought legal consultation and briefed the details of this investigation to the Region Legal Services Office (RLSO), Europe, Africa, and Southwest Asia (EURAFSWA); and the Department Of Justice (DoJ), Assistant U.S. Attorney's Office that prosecute Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA) violations, in order to determine the prosecutorial merit for this case. RA was advised by RLSO that this investigation would be referred for prosecution under MEJA, since the offending party is a Civilian. RLSO further related special circumstances must exist in order to prosecute a civilian accompanying the military under the UCMJ. For example it must be in a formally declared war zone or the member is participating in an ongoing contingency operation (e.g., Operation Iragi Freedom). RLSO added the conduct must occur in an area of actual fighting. DoJ related that while this may be a simple assault, it did not meet the threshold of a criminal felony level sexual assault under federal law. Therefore, the case was declined for federal prosecution under MEJA. 6 [REDACTED] related a sexual harassment complaint on behalf off[REDACTED] reported to the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Commission circa 06Mayl1é. According t0(bh[REDACTED] y the EEO complaint was placed on hold pending the NCIS inquiry.

7. No sexual assault forensic examination (SAFE) was conducted om [REDACTED] the nature of the offense.

8. Based on information related from the convening authorities, a crime scene documentation was not conducted.

9. Alcohol was a factor in this incident. According to [REDACTED] consumed alcohol prior to the incident.

10. Pursuant to DODINST 5505.18, the VLC was notified, whereim [REDACTED] accepted VLC services. [REDACTED], Sexual Assault Response Coordinator (SARC), NSA Bahrain, was notified about this incident; and she briefed [REDACTED] Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) services that were available to her. Additionally [REDACTED] cwas informed of her rights as a victim and she was issued a Victim/Witness Assistance Program (VWAP) Pamphlet on 08Mayl1é.

11. Botibé), [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] lcare civilians, therefore, a Military Protective Order (MPO) was not applicable. NCIS advised [REDACTED] consult with the SJA for his command or CTF 53 regarding leaving or removing(é) [REDACTED] Grom the USNS regarding having no contact with each other until the matter was resolved.

12. Database queries for [REDACTED] ama(é), [REDACTED] were conducted utilizing the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), the Defense Central Index of Investigations II), the ( ), Department of Defense Law Enforcement Information Exchange (D-DEX) and NCIS Knowledge Network (K-NET), which yielded negative results for any derogatory information. Additional checks with the Joint Personnel Adjudication System (JPAS) revealed thatth)[REDACTED] Secret security clearance.

13. [REDACTED], USNS MEDGAR EVERS, [REDACTED] JAGC, USN, Staff Judge Advocate, NSA Bahrain, and [REDACTED] JAGC, USN, RLSO, Naples, Italy, were apprised of the closure of this investigation.

14. This investigation is closed.