Cadet Facing Rape Charge, Court-Martial

Feb. 12, 2004 -- When Douglas Meester enrolled in the Air Force Academy three years ago, he felt he had the right stuff to succeed at the prestigious military school. But today, the 20-year-old Meester is back home in Florida awaiting his day in military court.

Watch 20/20's full report Friday at 10 p.m.

He is the first Air Force Academy cadet scheduled to be court-martialed for allegedly raping a female cadet.

But Meester says he is innocent of rape, saying he had "consensual sex" with a first-year cadet. "It was a stupid mistake to have sex with an underclassman, but it was never at a point of thinking it was stupid because I had done something which broke the law," he told 20/20's Chris Cuomo.

If convicted, Meester could face life in prison.

Journalist Max Potter wrote an article questioning the merits of the case against Meester. It appears in the current issue of the Denver-based magazine 5280.

To read Potter's story on the case, visit this URL: http://www.5280.com/issues/0402/conduct.php

When Potter began his own investigative reporting on the story, he said, he was stunned that there didn't seem to be "hard concrete, evidence" against Meester.

Meester, along with defense attorney Frank Spinner, spoke with 20/20 and described what he said happened in his dorm room on the night of Oct. 18, 2002.

Shortly after midnight, Robert Rando, a third-year cadet, came to Meester's room looking to borrow a bottle of tequila to drink with the cadet, whom we call "Marie." Meester told Rando he'd share his liquor with him and Marie, but told him they had to come to his room to drink it.

Marie was one of the women who appeared in 20/20's story on the Air Force Academy sex assault scandal last year.

Getting Drunk on ‘Body Shots’

Meester said Rando and Marie, who had already had a drink that evening, came to his room and the three began drinking shots of tequila together.

The three were doing "body shots," Meester said, putting salt on each other's necks, licking off the salt, and then drinking the tequila. Over the course of an hour, Rando had about 10 shots of tequila, while Marie had at least six. They were getting drunk and intimate.

Then, when there was just one shot of tequila left in the bottle, Meester said, Marie let him do a body shot off her breast. The body shot — and the kiss that followed — between Meester and Marie was only the beginning.

Rando says Marie asked him if he was jealous to see her kissing Meester. He said he was, and later left the room.

Marie later told Air Force investigators that she knew Meester thought that what they were doing was consensual. "I know for a fact that he probably thought that what we were doing was consensual, because I know I was responding to what he was doing," she said.

Meester said he performed oral sex on her and she responded. "We were both being very passionate and we had sex," he said.

Too Drunk to Resist?

Marie later told Air Force investigators a very different story, however. She told investigators she "remembered blacking out and coming back every few minutes or so" throughout the sexual encounter and that "her body was numb."

Meester says Marie was never unconscious during the sex. "She was able to talk and kiss me back and say things to me and she had control of her body. … I can't speak to how much of that she actually remembers, but I do know that's what happened that night."

For the case against Meester, the big question is: Was Marie so intoxicated that she was incapable of physically resisting?

"I've no doubt she was drunk," Meester said, "I know I was drunk. … But there's no doubt in my mind that it was a consensual act. Whenever I would do something she would respond to it."

Cadet Robert Rando later confirmed to investigators that, at one point he came back to Meester's room and walked in on them as Meester was "performing oral sex on her." Rando said Marie's "arms were flailing over her head and she was moaning" and that it looked to him like she was conscious of what was happening.

Academy Investigates

When Rando came back again two hours later, he said he saw Meester in bed asleep and Marie passed out on the floor with all her clothes on.

Defense lawyer Spinner says this is significant. "She was able to tie her shoes, she was able to put her clothes on. … By her own statements, it's clear that she had the ability to indicate that she did not want to engage in sexual intercourse," he said.

Around 3:45 a.m., Rando woke Marie up and helped her back to her room.

Marie declined to give 20/20 an interview for this story, but she discussed what happened with Meester in an e-mail exchange with her brother, a senior cadet at the Academy, the day after the incident.

He wrote to her, "What was he doing?" "Everything and it's all my fault," she replied. "Did he rape you?" her brother asked. Marie replied, "Yes."

Potter, the reporter, said Marie's brother spoke to her after she e-mailed him and asked her if she'd like him to get a counselor for her. She said yes, and was later interviewed by the academy's Office of Special Investigation.

Meester was subsequently called before the Air Force's Office of Special Investigation, and was ultimately charged with rape, forcible sodomy (which is how the Air Force refers to oral sex), indecent assault and conducting unbecoming an officer.

Meester admits he's frightened at the prospect of a possible conviction and a sentence of life in prison. But, he said, "I think it's important to be open about it. The only thing I want is for people to be fair, and for people to look at this and, and see it for what it is, and understand that the truth matters, not always just an accusation."