Former top enlisted Fort Carson soldier begins court-martial over accused sexual misconduct

FORT CARSON, Colo. (KRDO) -- A former top enlisted soldier from Fort Carson is facing a court-martial beginning June 7 at the Mountain Post for alleged sexual misconduct over several years and across several states.

According to his charge sheet, Sergeant Major Benito A. Perez is accused of sexual misconduct with a girl under the age of 16 and with a Private First Class in his command.

The alleged misconduct with the girl under age 16 began sometime between 2008 and 2009. The charge sheets indicate that she was between the age of 12 and 16 at the time. Perez is accused of having the girl undress in front of him, along with exposing himself to her at or near El Paso, Texas. He's also accused of touching her inappropriately. Documents indicate that he's facing an additional charge for touching the underage girl inappropriately near Lawton, Oklahoma between 2009 and 2011.

Then, between 2013 and 2014, he's accused of continuing his contact with her while he was overseas serving in Kuwait. The charge indicates he had sexual conversations online with the underage girl, who was under the age of 18 at this point.

By 2016, Perez's communication with the girl continued while he was in Indiana, though it appears she was above the age of 18 at this point. The charge sheet details specific explicit messages Perez sent to the young girl in early July of 2016.

By late June of 2017, Perez was stationed at Fort Carson when he continued his communication with the girl. Documents reveal specific messages he sent to her requesting that she send him sexually explicit photos.

The final charge listed in the documents indicates that Perez became "unduly familiar" with a Private First Class while stationed at Fort Carson between 2019 and 2020. The documents allege that he regularly called and sent personal texts to her, along with asking that she send him pictures of herself.

He also is accused of ordering her to his office regularly for closed-door personal meetings, and to his home after work hours. The documents detail accusations that he touched the woman on the leg and hugged her as well.

Perez's court-martial proceedings begin on June 7th, 2021.