GERMANY
Stars and Stripes
By Jessica Inigo, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Thursday, September 8, 2005
MANNHEIM, Germany — A suspended Army chaplain accused of sexually forcing himself on male troops was granted a trial delay Wednesday so he can go home to attend his father’s funeral.
During his arraignment at the Taylor Barracks courtroom, Capt. Gregory Arflack also told the judge he wanted to unconditionally waive his right to an Article 32 investigation, which means there will be no investigation and the case will go straight to trial.
Arflack, originally from Kentucky, said he did not want to enter a plea before going on emergency leave, and he had not decided if his case should be heard by a judge alone or by a jury panel.
The defense asked that these decisions be deferred until after Arflack returned from the States. A deferment also is necessary to allow time for a psychological counseling program for the accused, the defense contended.
Arflack, 44, who was suspended in mid-August from his duties as a Roman Catholic priest with the 279th Base Support Battalion out of Bamberg, was granted the delay by Col. Denise Lind, the military judge presiding over the arraignment.