Army Under Fire For Sex Investigation

ABERDEEN, Maryland: Army officials are denying claims by five white female army recruits at the Aberdeen Proving Ground who say they were pressured by military investigators to claim falsely that they were sexually abused by their superiors. "I agreed to tell them what they wanted to hear," said recruit Kathryn Leming, "in order that they leave me alone." Darla Hornberger, a 30-year-old private from Oklahoma, supported Leming's assertion, sayin g: "They put it down on paper. All I did was sign it. (They) had what they wanted in their heads and that's what they got on paper." Under Army regulations, it is illegal for Army personnel to have sexual relations with superiors. TIME%2 7s Mark Thompson reports that some Army personnel have speculated that the women, whether or not pressured by military investigators, may have claimed rape to escape punishment for consensual sex. Whatever the resolution of those new claims, the Arm y has its hands full fending off new accusations by the NAACP that it has unfairly targeted black soldiers in the rape allegations. Said Army spokesman John Yaquiant: "All we want is the truth. It does us no good to have allegations that will not hol d up." He added that at least four soldiers face court-martial and dozens have been suspended for rape allegations.