A cadet at the Air Force Academy will face a court-martial in September on charges including sexual assault and child pornography.

Cadet 3rd Class John-Paul Thompson faced an Article 32 hearing, similar to a civilian grand jury proceeding, in February to determine if probable cause existed to support the charges against him.

The academy said in a Wednesday email that his court-martial has been scheduled to begin Sept. 23, and could last the entire week.

Thompson faces one specification each of violating Article 12 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, or alleged sexual assault; Article 134, or knowingly and wrongfully producing child pornography of a 17-year-old; and Article 92, for failing to obey a no-contact order. The academy said in February that the three charges all involve the same alleged female victim.

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According to the charge sheet provided by the academy, Thompson allegedly raped the victim at or near Gatlinburg, Tennessee, on or about March 30, 2018. Thompson is also accused of creating videos of her, as a minor, engaging in sexually explicit conduct on multiple occasions in the continental United States between April and June 2017. Thompson also allegedly violated the no-contact order several times between about April 26, 2018, and June 27, 2018.

The academy stressed in its original release that the charges are only accusations, and that Thompson is considered innocent until proven guilty.

Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.

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