Air Force officer scheduled for court-martial over alleged sexual abuse

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- A general court-martial for a Major in the U.S. Air Force is scheduled for Monday, April 19.

Maj. Elaine Christian is charged with one specification of an alleged abusive sexual contact, abuse of training leadership position, and two specifications for dereliction of duty.

At the time of the assault, Christian was assigned to the U.S. Air Force Academy Preparatory School.

According to Task & Purpose, Christian allegedly groped a "specifically protected junior member of the armed forces" in the fall of 2019.

Task & Purpose states that the victim might've been either a cadet or a cadet candidate enrolled at the Preparatory School.

She is also charged with allegedly groping an individual without their consent between Oct. 1 and Nov. 3, 2019.

In addition to the sexual abuse allegations, Christian faces two counts of failing to obey order or regulation. She allegedly had an inappropriate "social relationship" with at least one person at or near the academy and allegedly provided alcohol for underage Air Force Academy cadets.

Task & Purpose reports this court-martial comes as the Air Force Academy is actively working on improving its sexual assault prevention response office.

In 2017, an internal academy investigation accused the office of being plagued with infighting, rumors, and poor record-keeping.