A Marine is under investigation for sending an unwanted photo of his genitals as part of a pattern of misrepresenting himself to exploit vulnerable women, according to several people familiar with the events.

The Marine Corps launched an inquiry last week after social media posts about the unsolicited photo grabbed the attention of a two-star deputy commanding general at the Army’s Cyber Center of Excellence.

Maj. Gen. Johanna Clyborne, who is also adjutant general of the Minnesota National Guard, asked publicly on Twitter for information so the noncommissioned officer could be reported.

But in addition to that uproar, dozens of women accuse him of lying and manipulating them for months to get pity, emotional gratification, nude photos and, in some cases, sex.

“He’s literally lying about his whole life,” said the woman who received the unsolicited photo, a government employee who said she had a security clearance and asked not to be named to protect her privacy and career.

The service is withholding the accused Marine’s name and other details to protect his privacy and the integrity of the investigation.

“We take all allegations of sexual harassment seriously and do not condone the alleged online behavior,” Marine Corps spokesman Maj. Jim Stenger said in an email.

The Marine under investigation, who was identified online, did not respond to inquiries on Twitter, and a phone number at which others had reached him was disconnected.

One of at least two Twitter accounts believed to be the Marine’s, @USEmCee, was deleted. But not before he admitted there that he was wrong to send pictures and sexual comments without explicit consent.

A double life

He told the women he was in special operations battlefield personnel recovery or was the “Marine Corps version of James Bond,” some said online and in interviews. But in reality, he’s a musician, they say.

His targets say he maintained the public Twitter account @USEmCee, which, before the scandal, had gained some popularity for tweets about leadership but also featured many of what he called “horny” posts.

He contacted many of the women through that account, with its profile photo showing staff sergeant rank insignia. 

While he often publicly spoke of taking care of lower-ranking Marines, he was privately making passes at junior personnel, the women say. 

He often made sexual comments to a much younger ROTC cadet, in what some say was a shocking abuse of rank.

It was only after the photo incident that some felt comfortable coming forward with more accusations.

“It took one person being brave enough to post about it,” said Madison Korns, a 23-year-old civilian who met him through a military friend online and joined a chat group in which members exchanged nude photos.

Now, approximately 35 women have begun sharing their stories of him in a group chat of their own. Some have also done so in public forums online.

“He helped a lot of people, and he made people think it was genuine,” the government employee said. “I think he did that just to lure women in.”

‘Narcissist behavior’

Between posts about leadership, @USEmCee often discussed his masturbation habits in public posts.

With some women, he initiated private conversations that were sexual at the outset, but with others, he at first offered help as they struggled with personal difficulties.

Online and in interviews, the women say he lied to build trust. For example, one tweet said he told a woman dealing with the death of a loved one that he worked in mortuary affairs.

“We’re all convinced that he had like a spreadsheet (of the lies),” Korns said. “I just don’t know how he kept any of this straight.”

Korns opened up to him about having been sexually assaulted in college, and he shared purported details about himself, telling her he was adopted and had one lung, she said.

“Now I’m questioning everything he’s ever said,” Korns said.

He frequently played on sympathy, claiming to be a 30-something virgin or long celibate after being repeatedly rejected by women, they say. He told some he’d never dated.

It now seems he was married the whole time, the women say. Stars and Stripes could not independently confirm his marital status.

Though few of the women have met him in person, he has likely “amassed an impressive collection of nude photographs” of them, said a former Marine who is in the private group chat.

She’s one of at least two who say they had sexual relationships with him. But she wouldn’t have if she had suspected he was married, she said.

To obscure his relationship status, he told some women that he had a female roommate who was carrying a dying friend’s child and that he planned to adopt the child when the friend died, she said. 

“To me this is like true psychopath, narcissist behavior,” said the former Marine, who spoke on condition of anonymity to protect her privacy.

She stressed that those he charmed are not stupid. They just didn’t think to compare notes online — until now.

“We’re still unraveling lies that he’s told,” said the former Marine.

A revealing photo

The government employee’s friendship with @USEmCee began after she complained online about discrimination she said she faced from a Navy corpsman while getting medical care.

The Marine messaged to advise her how to file a formal complaint, she said. Soon after, their chats turned sexual, and at some point they exchanged intimate photos.

But after about a month, in October, he went too far by suggesting they meet up to get blackout drunk and have sex.

“To me it feels predatory,” she said. “He was very adamant about getting drunk.”

After that, he continued “love bombing” her with messages, she said, but she largely ignored them until she awoke Dec. 30 to the unrequested and unwanted Snapchat image of his private parts.

She tweeted her disgust without naming him. He responded privately that he thought that she’d liked that type of photo before, according to screenshots she provided.

Still, she was reluctant to publicly out him until she found out that he was doing “damage control” by suggesting to others that she’d led him to believe such images were welcome. So she released the screenshot of his admission.

“It wasn’t just a d--k pic” that was the problem, but months of calculated deceit with her and others, she said on a Twitter account she’s since made private.

Potential consequences

Some military-affiliated Twitter users say the incident highlights issues with sexual misconduct in the military. Others see it as a timeless tale of a man lying to impress women. Some questioned whether it warranted a general’s attention. 

Clyborne has no doubts. To ignore it would be shirking her duties and tolerating unacceptable behavior, she told Stars and Stripes.

“The behavior we accept is the standard we set,” she said in an emailed statement.

Clyborne made it easier for others to speak up, said Natalia Antonova, a journalist and online security researcher with whom @USEmCee also interacted privately online.

“It’s a really good thing that he got unmasked,” she said.

As for potential punishment, trial under the Uniform Code of Military Justice for sending “intimate images” may be difficult because the code doesn’t address distribution of photos of one’s own body, said Don Christensen, a former Air Force prosecutor.

“But administrative actions could be taken for sure,” said Christensen, now president of Protect Our Defenders, an advocacy group for military sexual assault survivors.

The seedy incident also hints at potential national security vulnerabilities, as foreign security services could exploit defense personnel using the same tactics, Antonova said.

The Marine’s downfall, she said, was talking to so many women that he lost control.

“Not even Russian spies are that dumb,” said Antonova, a frequent Kremlin critic.

For the former Marine who says she met with him, it’s “horrifying” that an NCO would pose as a mentor and then exploit that.

“I want that power taken away from him,” she said.