Marine Corps drill instructors hike with poolees and guests on April 27, 2024, during an all-female pool function at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif. (Fred Garcia/U.S. Marine Corps)
A Marine Corps recruiter who self-published a memoir about his sexual pursuit of a high school student eager to enlist will spend a year in prison after pleading guilty to abusing his position and violating orders, the service said Wednesday.
Gunnery Sgt. Christopher Champagne, 37, was also sentenced to a dishonorable discharge and reduction of rank to E-1 by Military Judge Lt. Col. David Segraves on Friday at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in California. He will serve his prison sentence at Naval Consolidated Brig Miramar, the service said.
“Ultimately, we remain steadfast in our commitment to ensure that the men and women who desire to earn the title ‘Marine’ will be treated respectfully during the recruiting and recruit training processes and be ready to provide America with an elite crisis-response force that will continue to fight, win our nation’s battles and return quality citizens back to society,” Steve Posy, spokesman for Marine Corps Recruiting Depot San Diego, said in a statement.
The Marine Corps declined Wednesday to release the court document outlining the charges against Champagne, despite his conviction. Officials only said he pleaded guilty as part of a pretrial agreement to six counts of violating a lawful general order, two counts of abusing his position as a recruiter and one count of violating another lawful written order.
The court document, known as a charge sheet, would provide additional details about when and where the crimes took place and whether he was placed in pretrial confinement.
However, the teenage recruit at the center of the case has filed a $5 million administrative claim with the Marine Corps that detailed her accusations of sexual abuse and the service’s negligence in preventing it.
The girl, who was 17 years old at the time of the incident, is not named in the claim. She said Champagne coerced her into a sexual relationship, isolated her from her peers and tried to control her life. She met him after moving to Texas in September 2022 and was interested in joining the Marines.
Champagne pulled the teen into his office alone during her first workout with other potential recruits and asked her whether she was dating anyone, according to the claim. He asked her to stay away from other Marines at the workout and then said, “I can tell you are going to be trouble for me.”
In the memoir that Champagne published, he described the girl as a “gift” sent to him by the recruiter in the town from which she moved. The memoir has since been removed from sale.
Champagne then began to invite the teenager to his home where they had sex and he would serve her alcohol, according to the claim. In May 2023, she said the Marine forced himself upon her while she was sleeping, and she had to fight him off.
She ended the relationship the following month, but Champagne continued to text her and threatened to take his own life because of what she was doing to him. He then began to show up at her family’s home, which is when her parents called the police, and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service began an investigation.
Still, he continued to try to contact the teen, and she said NCIS did not take the case seriously enough.
She subsequently learned Champagne’s ex-wife had previously filed complaints with NCIS that the Marine had abused and sexually assaulted her.
“What happened to me was a result of the United States Department of Defense, Department of the Navy, and the Marine Corps’ negligence and was entirely preventable,” she wrote in the claim.
Christine Dunn, the attorney for the teen, said the claim is still going through the administrative process with the Marine Corps.
“Mr. Champagne’s sentencing brings to a close the criminal case. However, the Marines also need to be held accountable for allowing him access to vulnerable young recruits, despite a history of allegations of sexual misconduct,” she said in a statement. “Through our civil case, we hope that the Marines will take accountability and make changes to protect future recruits.”
Posy, the Marine Corps spokesman, said NCIS conducted a comprehensive investigation.
“From the beginning, the Marine Corps has taken these allegations of misconduct very seriously, and as we move forward, we will continue to take actions to revisit and properly enforce existent policies and standards. Likewise, we will remain transparent on these issues but mindful of not to interfere with administrative or legal processes,” he said.
