PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Petty Officer 2nd Class Eric D. Pruett was found not guilty of Articles 120 – Sexual Assault and 128 – Assault, of the Uniform Code of Military Justice Friday.
Pruett, 30, a native of Boise, Idaho, was found not guilty during a general court-martial that convened at Coast Guard Legal Services Command in Norfolk, Virginia, on Monday, July 18.
The commander of Coast Guard Atlantic Area referred Pruett’s case to general court-martial on June 24, 2015, following an Article 32 hearing completed on May 14, 2015, which determined there was sufficient evidence to continue to court-martial.
The charges followed a seven-month investigation by the Coast Guard Investigative Service revealing that Pruett reportedly committed sexual acts upon the alleged victim without consent while at Pruett’s parents’ home in Boise, Idaho during September 2014, and reportedly assaulted the alleged victim in Slidell, Louisiana, during October 2012. The alleged victim reported the incidents to Pruett’s command on Oct. 3, 2014.
Pruett is assigned to Base Cape Cod in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts.