A former member of the Maine Army National Guard could have to spend 56 days in jail as part of a three-year term of probation after pleading guilty to committing felony sexual abuse of a fellow soldier during a 2020 deployment to the Arizona / Mexico border.
Bret Chapman entered into a plea agreement in December following a four-hour negotiation with the Cochise County Attorney’s Office, the victim, and a judge unrelated to the case. The deal stipulated that Chapman, 27, would be placed on probation for a Class 5 felony of “intentionally or knowingly” engaging in nonconsensual sexual contact.
On Monday, Chapman stood before Judge Timothy Dickerson for formal sentencing. The term of probation began at that time and it requires Chapman to comply with several conditions, including those related to sexual offenses.
However, Chapman will not be required to register as a sex offender, a stipulation the victim agreed to.
Dickerson also imposed a 60-day jail term as a condition of probation. But the judge agreed Chapman would have until April 4 to self-surrender to the jail so that his defense attorney, Amanda Bynum, can challenge the jail time.
At issue was a last minute effort by Deputy County Attorney Michael Powell to have Chapman to spend more time in jail than the 4 days he initially served following his arrest in December 2020. The extra 56 days would be in addition to a deferred 30 days of jail time that Chapman knew he could be required to serve if he ever violates his probation.
However, Bynum argued that the plea negotiations did not end with any additional jail time aside from the deferred period which Chapman and his attorney acknowledged when they signed the formal plea agreement. Bynum pointed out that Chapman now lives in Virginia and is already scheduled to fly home on Friday, and that neither she nor he had any inkling before the hearing that Dickerson might impose jail time.
Dickerson agreed to the extension for beginning the jail term so Bynum can file an expedited request for the recording of the December change of plea hearing. If Chapman was not informed by the other judge that Dickerson would have discretion to impose a jail sentence on top of probation, then the sentencing order will have to be modified, he conceded.
If the possibility of jail time was properly explained, then Chapman must self-surrender to the Cochise County jail by 9 a.m. April 4 or face additional felony charges, Dickerson warned.
During the hearing, Dickerson heard from the victim about how she has been impacted by Chapman’s actions after their unit was deployed in October 2020. She noted the Maine soldiers had been warned ahead of time about “dangers at the border,” but she never expected that danger would come from a fellow soldier.
Powell revealed during Monday’s hearing that the U.S. Army engaged in “frustrating actions” which could have hindered the prosecution. It took the involvement of the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations to move the criminal investigation forward on behalf of the victim, said Powell, himself a former military reserve.
Court records show Chapman was given a less than honorable discharge after seven years of military service.
