Army Officer to Face 35 Fewer Charges

ABERDEEN, Md. — The Army dropped 35 charges Friday against a drill instructor accused of numerous counts of sexual misconduct involving female trainees at the scandal-plagued Aberdeen Proving Ground.

After a closed-door meeting between military prosecutors and attorneys for Staff Sgt. Delmar Simpson, Simpson's attorneys said the charges, which included four counts of rape involving two women and two counts of forcible sodomy, had been dropped.

The action came a day after Trial Judge Col. Paul Johnston threw out 19 charges against Simpson based on federal sex abuse laws. Simpson is also charged with rape and sodomy under military laws for the same incidents, and his attorneys successfully argued those laws took precedence.

Simpson still faces 94 counts of sexual misconduct--including charges he raped eight women.