COLUMBIA, S.C. — A Fort Jackson soldier has been suspended after the post said he has been accused of a sex crime.
The instillation issued a statement Wednesday stating that Staff Sgt. Kyle Jacob West, who's assigned to 4th Battalion, 39th Infantry Regiment at Fort Jackson, was arrested in April by the Richland County Sheriff's Department.
Online records show he is charged with criminal sexual conduct third-degree.
"The Fort Jackson command and our CID office is fully cooperating with local authorities," the post said in a statement. "We take all allegations of misconduct seriously and, as a result, West has been suspended from his duties until the charges have been adjudicated. Sexual misconduct is not tolerated and is inconsistent with Army values and the Army profession."
An Richland County Sheriff's Department incident report states the victim claims she met West through a dating app and they went out on the evening of May 14. The report says the woman detailed how they went back to her apartment where he sexually assaulted her.
On April 26, West was given a $10,000 personal recognizance bond, records show, which means he didn't have to pay money to be released from jail.
This is the third known arrest of someone stationed at Fort Jackson since last month.
Sgt. 1st Class Jonathan Pentland is charged with assault and battery third degree for an incident back on April 12 that was caught on cell phone video. Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said the recording shows Pentland yelling and at one point shoving a man who was walking in the Summit neighborhood in northeast Richland County near Pentland's home. The incident went viral in the community and was reported nationally.
The Army has suspended Pentland over that incident while the case plays out in court. During a hearing last Friday, prosecutors were given extra time to prepare for the case when they said they weren't ready to present their arguments. Pentland's lawyers, expressing frustration, said they were ready and said their client has been staying at a Ft. Jackson hotel away from his family since the days after his arrest.
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Then on May 6, a trainee on the fort was accused of taking a bus full of students hostage as they were headed to Forest Lake Elementary. School. Lott said 23-year-old Jovan Collazo ran away from the fort that morning and jumped aboard the bus with his military rifle while the bus was at a stop.
Lott said the recruit then pointed the weapon at the driver and students and demanded to be taken to another town. He let the students and driver go after six minutes, the sheriff said.
The base later clarified the gun was not loaded, since recruits at that stage aren't given ammunition for their guns.
