Travis King, the U.S. Army soldier who made headlines last year after crossing from South Korea into North Korea, is set to plead guilty to charges of desertion and assault as part of a plea deal, according to his attorney.
At a court hearing scheduled for September 20 at Fort Bliss, Texas, King will plead guilty to five of the 14 charges he faces. These charges include one count of desertion, three counts of disobeying a lawful order, and one count of assaulting a non-commissioned officer.
King’s attorney, Franklin Rosenblatt, confirmed the plea deal in a statement released on Monday to ABC News. Reports of a potential plea deal first emerged in mid-July.
“US Army Private Travis King will take responsibility for his conduct and enter a guilty plea,” Rosenblatt’s statement read. “He was charged by the Army with fourteen offenses under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. He will plead guilty to five of those, including desertion.”
Rosenblatt also noted that King would plead not guilty to the remaining charges, which the Army will then withdraw and dismiss.
“Travis’s guilty plea will be entered at a general court-martial. There he will explain what he did, answer a military judge’s questions about why he is pleading guilty, and be sentenced,” Rosenblatt added. “Travis is grateful to his friends and family who have supported him, and to all who refrained from pre-judging his case based on the initial allegations.”
A spokesperson for the Office of Special Trial Counsel indicated that if King’s guilty plea is accepted, the judge will impose a sentence according to the terms of the plea agreement. Should the judge reject the plea, the case may proceed to a contested court-martial.
Until the court hearing, King will remain in pretrial confinement.
Source: https://abcnews.go.com
