‘They wanted me to give up’: Alleged rape victim felt like suspect during military probe
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Tampa airman who suffered post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after she was allegedly raped on an overseas base said the investigation that followed made her feel like a suspect, not a victim.
Senior Airman Chelsea Woodard, now stationed at MacDill Air Force base, detailed the ordeal that meshes with a troubling pattern of how military sexual assaults (MST) are investigated.
Woodard, 30, expected a long career in the Air Force when she enlisted seven years ago.
“It was my retirement plan,” she said. “I wanted to serve and this was the answer.”
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But her dream took a nosedive about three years ago on Osan Air Base in South Korea.
A pair of short clips from the night of the incident show a smiling Woodard, celebrating her 27th birthday. But she recalls an airman she didn’t know lurking in the shadows.
“Everywhere I went, he was there,” Woodard said. “He was somewhere close. I kept seeing him, sort of in the background. No idea who he was.”
Woodard said he followed her after the party and offered to take her home, but later trapped her.
“He stood in front of the door,” she said. “I could not get out. I remember saying no.”
Woodard said the next morning she was bleeding and at that point she realized she had been raped.
“I remember crying, balling up on the floor,” Woodard said. “I went through this phase of who am I am? Why am I here?”
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After Woodard reported the allegations, she claims the base commander tried to disrupt the investigation. She said when she pushed back, she was the one who got in trouble.
“They built up the paper trial to just defame me essentially,” Woodard said. “There were false claims of me coming late and leaving when I want to.”
Woodard said nothing happened to the suspect, but she was treated like one.
“Absolutely. I have been treated like a suspect,” Woodard said. “He got promoted and moved to another base.”
It got even worse for Woodard.
Two separate examinations by Air Force psychologists, glazed over her rape claim and suggested she was mentally ill. They claimed Woodard had PTSD and indicated she should be kicked out of the Air Force.
“Based upon extensive evaluation, she does have a psychiatric condition rendering her unsuited for continued military service,” the report stated.
“I know that I’m not crazy,” Woodard said. “I know that I’m telling the truth. Then, to have people that wear the same uniform as me, paint me as crazy. I was angry.”
Civilian clinicians would later diagnose Woodard with (PTSD) related to the sexual assault.
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But the government demanded yet another military examination. Finally, there was an about face in an Army psychologist’s report.
He determined she was not mentally ill and that the previous reports were wrong. Woodard was diagnosed with PTSD, with the symptoms developing after the alleged rape.
Woodard was relieved but still angered by the process.
“They wanted me to give up,” Woodard said. “And I was not going to give up.”
The investigation into the assault was dropped.
“They closed my case without my knowledge,” Woodard said. “My victim’s counsel had to let them know you can’t close a case without the victim’s knowledge.”
Woodard and her attorney are currently fighting to reopen criminal investigation.
The Department of Defense Office of Inspector General is investigating how command staff at multiple bases have dealt with Woodard’s claim.
DOD data indicates Woodard’s ordeal is not unique. Military sexual assault is said to be underreported, and 60 percent of the victims who have reported the crimes claim they faced retaliation.
“It has to stop,” Woodard said. “That’s why I wanted [the public] to know what happened to me.”
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