Sgt. Greville Clarke faces multiple charges including rape and attempted murder for incidents in which he broke into the barracks rooms of five soldiers in 18 months and attacked them, according to court records. (Rose L. Thayer/Stars and Stripes)
AUSTIN, Texas — A Fort Cavazos sergeant broke into the barracks rooms of five soldiers with the intent to rape them — holding two of the women at gunpoint and strangling one with a lamp cord until he thought she was dead, according to court records.
Sgt. Greville Clarke, 31, was arraigned Monday on nine charges with a total of 27 counts, including attempted premeditated murder, attempted rape, violation of a lawful general regulation, rape, unlawful recording, robbery, burglary, aggravated assault, kidnapping and obstruction of justice.
There are five victims, according to the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel, which is prosecuting the case. Clarke pleaded not guilty Monday and delayed selecting a court-martial with a jury or only a judge.
In the most recent incident on Oct. 2, 2022, Clarke is accused of breaking into a woman’s barracks room, holding her at gunpoint and tying her hands up with a rope, blindfolding her, touching her sexually and taking photos of her naked, according to 21-page charge sheet.
At some point in the attack, Clarke hit her head with the loaded firearm, took two cellphones and her credit card and then stole $14,000 from her bank account. It ended when he forced her into a footlocker to move her to another location, but she managed to escape and run around a corner before he could shoot at her.
The charge sheet does not indicate how long the attack lasted.
That same day, Fort Cavazos officials sent out a text-message alert to soldiers living at the intersection of Legends Way and 37th Street on the Texas base warning them to stay away because a man with a gun had been seen.
The charge sheet described a similar attack that occurred July 15-17, 2022, in which Clarke used a handgun to hold a woman against her will, tie her arms and legs and blindfold and rape her. He strangled her with a lamp cord and placed his foot on her neck, only stopping when he thought she was dead.
He also photographed that woman and took her cellphone, two car keys, a room key, an Apple watch, a wallet, her military ID card, five pillows, two sheets, two blankets and a comforter. He then washed and disposed of the bed items, according to the charge sheet.
On March 5, 2022, and March 16, 2021, Clarke is accused of breaking into two other barracks rooms and holding the women against their will at knifepoint with the intent to rape and assault them.
He is accused of breaking into a fifth room July 11-15, 2022, with the intent to rape the occupant, but there are no additional charges for that incident.
Other charges against Clarke include not registering the firearm to keep it at his on-post residence and disposing of victims’ cellphones to hide evidence. Soldiers who live in family housing on base are only allowed to keep firearms in their home if they are registered. Soldiers living in the barracks must store personally owned weapons in their unit’s armory.
Military Judge Col. Maureen Kohn presided over the arraignment at Fort Cavazos, where Clarke is assigned to the 74th Multi-Role Bridge Company, 62nd Engineer Battalion, 36th Engineer Brigade. His next court hearing is scheduled for Dec. 10.
He has been in pretrial confinement at the Bell County Justice Center since Oct. 3, 2022, the day after the last attack.
Michelle McCaskill, spokeswoman for the Office of Special Trial Counsel, said last month that the case has taken nearly two years to bring to court because piecing together the additional accusations and multiple victims took “substantial investigative and administrative efforts.”
