FORT BELVOIR, Va. – The arraignment for the case United States vs. Maj. Blaine McGraw, 48, was held Aug. 12 at the Lawrence Williams Judicial Center, Fort Hood, Texas.
At the arraignment, McGraw was informed of the charges against him. The 5th Judicial Circuit military judge discussed certain rights held by McGraw, such as his right to counsel and his right to select the forum of his trial. The available forum options include a trial before officer panel members, all of whom must be senior to him, or a trial before military judge alone.
The U.S. Army Office of Special Trial Counsel referred nine charges and 272 specifications that are alleged to have occurred on various occasions between 2021 and 2026. The total number of alleged victims in this case is 93.
McGraw is charged with 91 specifications of abusive sexual contact and sexual assault, one specification of attempted sexual assault, one specification of attempted subornation of perjury, one specification of solicitation to commit perjury, 66 specifications of indecent recording, 91 specifications of assault consummated by a battery, 18 specifications of conduct unbecoming an officer, one specification of extramarital sexual misconduct, one specification of willfully disobeying a superior commissioned officer, and one specification of dereliction of duty in violation of Articles 120, 120c, 128, 80, 133, 134, 90 and 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
McGraw pleaded not guilty to all the charges and specifications and deferred forum selection until a later time.
The prosecution and defense will have the opportunity to argue motions before the judge at hearings that will be scheduled at a later date. A trial date has not yet been issued by the judge. It is anticipated that all of the proceedings will be held at Fort Hood.
Through close collaboration with the criminal investigators, OSTC thoroughly evaluated the evidence and carefully considered all the facts before referring charges in this case.
The charges are allegations and McGraw is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
For information about court-martial proceedings, the Army facilitates public access to its docketing information online through the Army’s eDocket system at: https://www.jagcnet.army.mil/eDocket/case-list/all_Cases.
