WIESBADEN, Germany — A 22-year-old soldier will serve three years behind bars after pleading guilty to one count of indecent acts with a child and three reduced counts of assault consummated with a battery.
Pfc. Nathan Lilly, of the 141st Signal Battalion in Wiesbaden, approached four children younger than 12 years old in AAFES stores in Wiesbaden and Mainz Kastel in December and January and inappropriately touched them, according to court testimony Thursday.
Lilly admitted that he touched the genital area of two girls and one boy and groped another boy’s buttocks on three different occasions. He said he did it to get sexually aroused and acknowledged he needed help to “become a better person.”
Lilly said he approached an 11-year-old girl in the Toyland in Mainz Kastel on Dec. 30 and touched her. The same day, he groped a boy who was shopping in the DVD and CD section of PowerZone in Mainz Kastel.
On Jan. 16, Lilly said he approached a brother and sister in the Shoppette at Wiesbaden Army Air Field and touched both of them.
“She looked at me with a face of a question, why I was doing that, and fear as to why someone besides someone she knew was touching her,” Lilly said in court, describing the girl’s reaction.
The father of the brother and sister testified during the sentencing portion of the court-martial hearing that his children were traumatized by the incident. The stepfather of another girl testified that the child no longer wanted to participate in school activities involving male teachers.
“All four of these children had a piece of their innocence taken away,” Capt. Will Dockry, lead prosecutor in the case, said during the hearing. “A piece of their childhood has been taken away, and society demands retribution.”
Prosecutors agreed to reduce three of the charges of indecent acts to assault charges and offered a sentence of three years in exchange for a guilty plea before the trial began. Col. Denise Lind, a military judge, sentenced Lilly to six years behind bars. But according to the law, the lesser of the two sentences stands. He will also be dishonorably discharged and be reduced in rank to E1.
Prosecutors agreed to give Lilly 30 days of jail time credit because of pre-trial punishment he received, including harassment from inmates and sleeping in the same cell as already convicted inmates.
With tears streaming down his face, Lilly took the stand and apologized to the parents of the children he assaulted before his sentence was announced.
“I hope with all my heart that your children recover, and that they are able to accomplish great things in their lives,” he said.
After Lind read her decision, Lilly’s mother approached the mother of one of the victims.
“I know he has a problem,” Lilly’s mother said to the woman. “I just want to apologize for him.”
The father of the children approached in the Shoppette said he was satisfied with the pre-trial agreement, which ensured that his children would not have to testify in court.
“I don’t know what the long-term sentence is for my children,” he said.
