A major at the Air Force Academy accused of rape, sexual abuse of a child, and rape of a child was found not guilty of all charges at a court-martial Tuesday.

Maj. Travis J. Burns, who as of last year worked for the commandant of cadets, faced an Article 32 hearing last May and was charged with several specifications of violating Article 120 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which forbids sexual assault. An Article 32 is similar to a civilian grand jury and is meant to decide if there is probable cause to support the charge and its specifications.

According to a charge sheet released at the time, Burns was accused of raping a woman at or near Clovis, New Mexico, on or about Dec. 21, 2013.

Burns was also accused of sexually assaulting and repeatedly molesting a girl who was under the age of 12 in 2017 and 2018, the charge sheet said.

Burns’ trial at the academy began Aug. 10, and he was tried by a military judge at his request. The judge returned not guilty verdicts in all charges and specifications, the academy said in a release Wednesday.

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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