CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea — An Army captain saw his 19-year military career end abruptly after he was found guilty of sexual misconduct toward female subordinates and lying to investigators about his actions.
Capt. Clyde E. Callwood, former commander of the 520th Maintenance Company, was sentenced Wednesday to 15 months in prison and dismissal from the service.
Military judge Col. Donna M. Wright handed down the sentence after finding him guilty earlier in the day of attempting to have improper relationships with two female subordinates, aggravated sexual contact, making a false official statement and obstruction of justice.
"This case is about an arrogant Army captain who’s abused his position" and tried to "force himself" on two low-ranking female soldiers, prosecutor Capt. Scott Hughes told Wright in a closing argument.
Callwood fancied himself "a ladies’ man," said Hughes, but "in reality he’s not a ladies man, he’s a sexual predator."
Two female soldiers who served with Callwood in the 520th Maintenance Company testified that he pressed them to form improper relationships with him.
One said he gave her body wash and his personal cell phone number and asked her to call him.
The other testified Callwood pressed her to meet him numerous times, calling her repeatedly and inviting her to his residence and on dates.
She said she’d been afraid to report him for fear of reprisals.
"I would have got a lot of hostility towards me. … There would have been a lot of problems [within the unit]," she said.
One of the women also testified Callwood groped her. That led to the aggravated sexual contact charge.
Callwood’s conviction on the false official statement and obstruction of justice charges came after he told an investigating officer at a pretrial hearing that he had never been the subject of sexual misconduct allegations.
Prosecutors produced evidence that contradicted his denial, including a former Army investigator who testified that in 1992 at Fort Stewart, Ga., a woman accused Callwood of sexual assault and that he received "counseling."
"He didn’t think we’d find out about his past," Hughes told the judge.
