AFA major facing Article 32: Ex-wife made rape accusations during custody battle

The Air Force Academy major who is facing an Article 32 hearing over allegations of rape and rape of a child says those accusations are false and part of an attempt by his ex-wife to sway a custody battle.

Friday, we spoke to Maj. Travis Burns’ lawyer, Ben Beliles, who aims to discuss his case and provide more information.

We expect to learn even more during an Article 32 hearing Monday. The Academy says Burns violated Articles 120 and 120b of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

The Air Force Academy major is accused of rape and sexual abuse of a child under the age of 12. According to a charge sheet, Burns allegedly raped a woman in Clovis, New Mexico in December 2013.

However, Beliles says “the heinous and offensive allegations” were brought against Burns by “his ex-wife and her husband in the context of a vicious custody battle over their child.”

Beliles says Burns denies the accusations, and he claims that the Colorado Springs Police Department investigated the claims but “declined to prosecute his case because of an absence of probable cause,” according to a statement. We’ve reached out to CSPD to confirm if that’s true, but we didn’t hear back from the department on Friday.

The statement from Beliles says “Burns began to pursue the enforcement of his custody rights with his ex-wife because he was being denied his lawful custodial rights and to ensure the safety of his daughter. His ex-wife then alleged she had been raped by Maj Burns years before without ever reporting it at the time, and not until after the Colorado Spring Police Department had determined there was no probable cause with respect to the allegations involving their daughter.”

Beliles says Burns will “contest these charges every step of the way” and will plead not guilty if the alleged violations are referred to a court-martial.

An Article 32 hearing is like a grand jury hearing, and the role is to determine if probable cause exists to support the charges.