SD-Based Navy SEAL Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Fellow Sailor Pleads Guilty To Lesser Charge

San Diego CA

03 February, 2021

3:58 PM

Description

By City News Service, Times of San Diego February 3, 2021 A San Diego-based Navy SEAL who had been facing a sexual assault charge involving a female sailor in Iraq pleaded guilty Tuesday to a lesser charge and was immediately sentenced to 90 days in custody and a reduction in rank. Special Warfare Operator First Class Adel A. Enayat was accused of sexually assaulting, choking, and biting the victim at Al Assad Air Base on July 4, 2019. The charge to which Enayat pleaded guilty in a Naval Base San Diego courtroom — assault consummated by battery — relates to choking and biting the victim, but not the alleged sexual assault, which he was accused of committing following a Fourth of July barbecue on the base. Enayat will serve his sentence at Naval Consolidated Brig Miramar and was reduced to a rank of E-1, according to Navy spokesman Brian O' Rourke. Many of the allegations against Enayat were outlined in an Associated Press article published last year, citing an account from former sailor Colleen Grace, who said she spoke with the victim shortly after the alleged assault occurred. Grace said the woman told her that what began as consensual sex turned violent when Enayat began choking and biting her. Enayat was part of a Navy SEAL platoon that was publicly pulled out of Iraq in 2019 and sent back to San Diego, though details regarding why the move was made were scant at the time, other than it involved sexual assault and drinking alcohol while deployed. Enayat was charged in late 2019 and the ensuing scandal also resulted in the firings of three SEAL Team leaders. Times of San Diego is an independent online news site covering the San Diego metropolitan area. Our journalists report on politics, crime, business, sports, education, arts, the military and everyday life in San Diego. No subscription is required, and you can sign up for a free daily newsletter with a summary of the latest news.