By Riley Ceder  |  Army Times

A U.S. Military Academy at West Point colonel was arraigned for a second time in military court on Dec. 2 on charges related to allegations of drinking with a cadet, tampering with witnesses and falsifying information, according to court documents.

Col. William Wright, USMA ’99, has been charged with three counts of failure to obey order or regulation, two counts of making false official statements and three counts of wrongful interference with an adverse administrative proceeding, according to an Army court docket.

The new charges are part of a legal saga that started June 18 when Wright, who served as director of the academy’s geospatial information science program, was first arraigned on nearly identical charges. Those charges were dropped in October.

Wright pleaded not guilty to the new charges and has requested a jury trial, according to Stars & Stripes, which was the first to report the new charges.

In June, Wright faced nine allegations of making inappropriate sexual remarks, providing and drinking alcohol with a cadet, endeavoring to influence testimonies and wrongfully contacting a cadet on the academy’s women’s tennis team, Military Times previously reported.

Wright allegedly denied specific instructions to refrain from reaching out to the cadet and also told another cadet to “kill” an administrative proceeding related to his misconduct, Military Times reported.

He was reassigned at that time to a role in the academy where his contact with cadets was cut off, according to Military.com.

A year earlier, court documents show, Wright also allegedly disobeyed a regulation in Hawaii when he provided alcohol to a cadet and drank with them. He allegedly repeated the same behavior in Alaska several days later.

When reached by email Thursday, West Point reiterated a statement it provided Military Times in June.

“West Point holds our staff and faculty to high standards,” Col. Terence Kelley, the director of communications at West Point, said. “Upon allegations that our cadre have not upheld our standards, we promptly investigate to determine the facts, protect, and assist potential victims, and hold alleged violators accountable.”

The trial is set to begin Jan. 6, 2025.

First published on Army Times

West Point colonel arraigned for second time on charges related to drinking with cadets, then lying about it (Stars and Stripes, 18 Dec 24)

The Army has again arraigned a West Point colonel on charges related to providing and drinking alcohol to at least one cadet, asking witnesses to lie about it and then lying himself during an investigation, according to court documents.

Col. William Wright pleaded not guilty Dec. 2 during an arraignment before military judge Lt. Col. Carrie Ward at the U.S. Military Academy, according to the Army’s online court docket. He has requested a jury trial.

Wright, director of the academy’s Geospatial Information Science Program, was first arraigned June 18 but the charges were withdrawn on Oct. 18 — just days before he was expected to plead guilty to some or all of the charges.

“During the legal process, an administrative change to Col. William Wright’s arraignment ensued without altering the core legal proceedings involved,” a spokesperson at West Point said about the legal back and forth. In the new round, prosecutors dropped the charge of conduct unbecoming of an officer and added a count of interfering with an adverse administrative proceeding.

The new charges include three counts of interference alongside three counts of disobeying orders or regulations and two counts of making false statements.

“As the legal process unfolds, Col. William C. Wright is present for duty at West Point,” according to a statement from the academy. “He has been reassigned to a separate position within the academy and does not have contact with cadets. Allegations against Col. Wright are merely accusations, and he is presumed innocent until proven guilty.” . . . . (read more)