National Guard Captain Who 'Motorboated' A Junior Officer Allowed To Retire, Collect Pension: Report
A military vehicle is transported.
May 20 2022, Published 10:20 a.m. ET
A Louisiana military member who "motorboated" a junior female soldier was allowed to retire, according to the Daily Mail.
Billy Joe Crosby Jr., a former logistics captain with the National Guard, was convicted following the assault in which he rubbed his face against the breasts of the woman, the Daily Mail reports. They were deployed with the 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team in Jordan at the time of the assault.
Despite being convicted of the assault, Crosby struck a deal with the prosecution that allowed him to retire with no fines, reprimands or having to register as a sex offender, according to the Daily Mail via the Army Times.
Crosby had to go into confinement for 30 days after pleading guilty to assault consummated by battery, a non-sexual offense, and conduct unbecoming, the Daily Mail reports. The incident took place in May 2021, when Crosby told the junior officer she would be "motorboated" during her promotion ceremony.
According to the Daily Mail, court papers described "motorboating" as "when a person places his or her face between a [woman]'s breasts and shakes his or her head back and forth while making sounds resembling a boat motor."
A National Guard spokesperson condemned the actions to the Army Times, saying his behavior "is not in line with the Army values," adding that several soldiers reported the assault.
Crosby's plea deal prevented the judge from dismissing him from the Army, so he was able to retire and collect his pension.
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According to the Daily Mail, the junior officer wanted to skip the ceremony, but Crosby went on to "motorboat" her anyway. Army officials began investigating the claims less than two weeks after the assault was reported. He retired March 31.
A 2018 survey of military members found that 20,000 people had been sexually assaulted in the previous year, according to the Rand Review. That equaled about 6 percent of all women and about .7 percent of men in the military, according to the report.
Many never filed an official report because they fear retaliation, according to the report.
