Soldier receives 6-month sentence in hazing case
FORT BRAGG, N.C.—A second soldier accused of driving an Asian-American private to suicide has received a six-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to reduced charges in a court-martial at Fort Bragg.
Spc. Ryan J. Offutt of Greenville, Pa., pleaded guilty Monday to one count of hazing and two specifications of maltreatment in the death of 19-year-old Danny Chen of New York. Authorities say Chen shot himself last year in Afghanistan after being hazed over his ethnicity.
Offutt also will be demoted to private and receive a bad conduct discharge. He had faced several charges, including negligent homicide.
Last month, Sgt. Adam Holcomb was convicted of mistreating Chen, but was acquitted of being a cause of Chen's death last fall. Holcomb was sentenced to 30 days in a military prison and other penalties.
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