EVENING. People.

Court-martial Of West Point Cadet Now In Hands Of Jury

January 24, 1997

Before the court-martial case went to the jury Friday afternoon, the prosecutor belittled claims by a West Point cadet accused of rape that the woman initiated sex with him and did not appear to be upset afterward.

"He was thinking of gratifying himself and satisfying himself sexually. He wasn't thinking of (the female cadet)," Capt. Dean Raab said in closing arguments.

Senior James Engelbrecht, 22, of Conroe, Texas, faces life in prison, dismissal from the Army and loss of all pay and benefits, if convicted of raping the woman during a night of drinking at a Memorial Day weekend party in New Jersey. It is the first time a cadet has accused a classmate of rape.

In closing arguments, defense attorney James Fitzgerald focused on the inconsistencies in the woman's story, including her inability to remember details of the alleged attack.

"Just keep thinking of the `I don't recall, I don't recall, I don't recall,' " he said. "She made more `I don't recalls' than John Gotti."

As he spoke, the woman, a junior at the U.S. Military Academy, dabbed her eyes and held her head in her hand.

Engelbrecht testified that the woman consented to having sex with him.

The woman testified that she woke up in pain as Engelbrecht raped her the night of May 24.

When they woke up in the morning, Engelbrecht said he helped the woman find her clothes and she did not appear upset.

U.S. Army officer William Blair, a former cadet, testified Wednesday that he was sleeping in the bunk bed under Engelbrecht, but he said he did not hear or see any sexual activity.

He said he saw the woman lying in the top bunk the morning after the party and he later saw blood on a sheet. The woman's sister had testified that she told her she had lost her virginity that night.