CLEVELAND — The commander of the Coast Guard 9th District referred the case of a Coast Guard petty officer charged with sexually assaulting two Coast Guard coworkers in Michigan City, Indiana, to general court martial Wednesday.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Alyssa Schiele, 26, is charged with multiple violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which include sexual assault, providing false official statements, obstruction of justice, and the use of indecent language.
If found guilty of all charges, Schiele may receive a dishonorable discharge from the Coast Guard, be subject to forfeiture of all military pay and allowances, and could be confined for more than 70 years.
Coast Guard Investigative Services began an investigation on March 10, 2014, when one of the reporting victims made an unrestricted report that Schiele had sexually assaulted her, which automatically triggers a formal investigation and notification to the commands of the reporting victims and offender.
Schiele is a food service specialist who was assigned to Coast Guard Station Michigan City during the alleged assaults and has since been reassigned to Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The assaults reportedly occurred at Michigan City's Blue Chip Casino December 2012 and at another Coast Guard member's Michigan City home August 2013.
Rear Adm. Fred Midgette, commander of the Coast Guard 9th District headquartered in Cleveland, is the convening authority for the court martial.
The UCMJ is a body of criminal laws that applies to all members of the armed forces. Charges of UCMJ violations are the military equivalent of state or federal criminal charges.
Charges are accusations against the individual, and the accused is presumed innocent. The Coast Guard is committed to a fair proceeding in compliance with the UCMJ. It is Coast Guard policy to withhold the identity of reporting victims.
The court martial will be held in Cleveland. A date and specific location will be announced in a future news release.
All questions related to the court martial should be directed to Chief Petty Officer Al Haraf of Coast Guard 9th District Public Affairs Detachment West, who may be reached by calling 630-986-2157.