NOTE 1: If convicted of only offenses committed on or after 28 December 2023, the judge shall sentence the accused in accordance with the sentencing parameters or criteria, as appropriate, or state reasons for deviating in writing. See RCM 925(c)(2), RCM 1002(a)(2), Appendices 12B (Parameter Table-Confinement Categories), 12C (Offense Category Chart), and 12D (List of Criteria Offenses), 2024 MCM.
a. MAXIMUM PUNISHMENT: DD, TF, 3 years, E-1. (Category 1)
b. SAMPLE SPECIFICATION:
In that __________ (personal jurisdiction data), (at/on board—location), on or about __________, (was cruel toward) did (oppress) (maltreat) __________), a person subject to (his) (her) orders, by (kicking (him) (her) in the stomach) (confining (him) (her) for twenty-four hours without water) (__________).
c. ELEMENTS:
(1) That (state the name (and rank) of the alleged victim) was subject to the orders of the accused; and
(2) That (state the time and place alleged), the accused [(was cruel toward) (oppressed) (maltreated)] (state the name of the alleged victim) by (state the manner alleged).
d. DEFINITIONS AND OTHER INSTRUCTIONS:
“Subject to the orders of” includes persons under the direct or immediate command of the accused and all persons who by reason of some duty are required to obey the lawful orders of the accused, even if those persons are not in the accused’s direct chain of command.
The (cruelty) (oppression) (or) (maltreatment) must be real, although it does not have to be physical. The imposition of necessary or proper duties on a service member and the requirement that those duties be performed does not establish this offense even though the duties are hard, difficult, or hazardous.
(“Cruel”) (“oppressed”) (and) (“maltreated”) refer(s) to treatment, that, when viewed objectively under all the circumstances, is abusive or otherwise unwarranted, unjustified, and unnecessary for any lawful purpose and that results in physical or mental harm or suffering, or reasonably could have caused, physical or mental harm or suffering.
((Assault) (Improper punishment) (Sexual harassment) may constitute this offense if the conduct meets the definition of this offense.)
(Sexual harassment includes influencing, offering to influence, or threatening the career, pay, or job of another person in exchange for sexual favors.) (Sexual harassment also includes deliberate or repeated offensive comments or gestures of a sexual nature.) (For sexual harassment to also constitute maltreatment, the accused’s conduct must, under all of the circumstances, constitute (“cruelty”) (“oppression”) (and) (“maltreatment”) as I have defined those terms for you.)
(Along with all other circumstances, you must consider, evidence of the consent (or acquiescence) of (state the name (and rank) of the alleged victim), or lack thereof, to the accused’s actions. The fact that (state the name (and rank) of the alleged victim) may have consented (or acquiesced), does not alone prove that he/she was not maltreated, but it is one factor to consider in determining whether the accused maltreated, oppressed, or acted cruelly toward, (state the name (and rank) of the alleged victim).)
e. REFERENCES: US v. Carson, 57 MJ 410 (CAAF 2002); US v. Fuller, 54 MJ 107 (CAAF 2001).