A member of the Maine Army National Guard indicted by a Cochise County grand jury for an alleged sexual assault of a fellow soldier while deployed to the U.S. / Mexico border cannot leave Arizona to await trial, a judge has ruled after learning the U.S. Army is preparing to initiate court-martial proceedings.
Bret Chapman, 26, has been under a court order since his arrest in late August to remain in Arizona pending trial on charges of felony kidnapping, aggravated assault, and two counts of sexual abuse. The charges stem from a report by a female soldier of a nonconsensual incident with Chapman in Cochise County in December 2020.
Both came to Arizona in October 2020 under a Title 10 mobilization order signed by then-President Donald Trump to assist the U.S. Border Patrol. About 120 members of the Maine National Guard were included in the order.
Court documents obtained by Arizona Daily Independent show Chapman’s Title 10 status is considered federal active-duty military service, providing him with housing at a Tucson hotel as well as pay, benefits, and legal protections equivalent to active military members.
Chapman’s Tucson-based attorney Amanda Bynum recently filed a motion with Judge Timothy Dickerson of the Cochise County Superior Court seeking permission for her client to live in Virginia with his parents while awaiting trial. The motion was prompted by the expectation that Chapman’s military orders will expire later this year, leaving him in Arizona with no income or housing.
But prosecutor Michael Powell of the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office told Dickerson during a recent hearing that Chapman was putting the cart before the horse.
According to Powell, Chapman has been served a Statement of Charges for prosecution under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. As long as Chapman remains on active duty, he will be compensated at his E-4 pay grade and provided lodging, Powell said.
“The State has confirmed with the Army that the Defendant’s brigade commander anticipates extending the Defendant’s orders to remain in Arizona,” Powell told the judge. “He will not be released from active duty until his UCMJ action is resolved.”
Powell added that the military will also order Chapman, who has seven years of service, to remain in Arizona, with court-martial proceedings to be conducted at Fort Huachuca or another federal property in the state.
Dickerson denied Chapman’s motion to move to Virginia, but said Bynum may refile a motion to modify the conditions of release if her client’s situation with the Army changes. Next up in Chapman’s case will be a pretrial conference later this year.
Court records show that a warrant was issued for Chapman’s arrest on Aug. 26 based on a county grand jury indictment. The delay between the date of the alleged incident and the indictment is attributed to forensic testing as well as coordination with the U.S. Army and the Maine National Guard.
Agents with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the FBI were also involved in the investigators.
Chapman was escorted two days later by U.S. Army personnel to a hotel in Sierra Vista where he was taken into custody by deputies with the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office. He was booked into the county jail before being released a few days later on $10,000 bond secured by a family member’s home.