The Marine Corps on Tuesday dropped sexual assault charges against a Marine who was found with a minor in his barracks room last year, according to the service. The Marine instead pleaded guilty to leaving the base without authorization.
Last year, Pfc. Avery Rosario was found with a 14-year-old girl in his barracks room and subsequently charged with three counts of sexual assault. Those charges alleged that Rosario sexually assaulted the girl in June on Camp Pendleton, California, where he is stationed.
The Marine Corps dropped those charges ahead of the Marine's impending court-martial, instead opting for a plea deal that resulted in Rosario being sentenced to time served, the breach of restriction charge, and an agreement that he be administratively separated from the service.
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In the hearing Tuesday, Rosario admitted to violating liberty restrictions to meet the teenager, whom his defense attorneys said he believed was older because she represented herself as 21 years old on a dating app.
“The charges that have been dismissed involve allegations that Rosario sexually assaulted a minor,” a spokesperson for I Marine Expeditionary Force, which is located at Camp Pendleton, told Military.com on Wednesday. “The convening authority came to this decision after consulting with the minor and her family through the minor's…
