A commissioned officer assigned to the Navy’s guided-missile destroyer Bulkeley sexually abused a child last year at Virginia’s Langley Air Force Base, prosecutors say.
Ensign Kevin Ortiz’s court-martial trial is slated to begin in Norfolk on Monday. He’s been charged with four specifications of sexual assault of a child between the ages of 12 and 16 years of age on Sept. 21 at the Air Force base.
He also drew a related charge for attempting to persuade the girl to engage in the sexual activity.
Throughout the month leading to his alleged intercourse with the girl, Ortiz wooed her on KIK, an instant message system for cellphones, according to charge sheets released to Navy Times.
“Hmmmm I’m trying to see all skin your whole body, legs, chest, all skin" and “how my lips will feel when I kiss all over your body,” he allegedly typed.
The Arleigh Burke-class Bulkeley is homeported at Naval Station Norfolk.
Both Ortiz’s military trial counsel and his command declined comment when contacted by Navy Times.
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Designated as a “surface warfare officer in training,” Ortiz was commissioned in mid-2016, shortly after graduating from the New York Maritime College in the Bronx. He was a member of the school’s Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps.
After leaving the Surface Warfare Officer Learning Site in Norfolk on Aug. 12, 2016, he was assigned to the destroyer Bulkeley.
He’s not the only sailor in Norfolk accused of committing serious crimes.
The court-martial trial for Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Fuels) 3rd Class Caleb Wayne Somers also is scheduled to begin Monday. He’s been charged with four specifications of sexual assault and another for abusive sexual contact tied to an incident that allegedly occurred in Norfolk on Jan. 2, 2016.
Somers allegedly raped an unconscious woman in Norfolk, according to charge sheet documents released to Navy Times.
He’s assigned to Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center Norfolk.
His trial counsel did not return Navy Times telephone calls seeking comment.
Originally from Missouri, Somers enlisted in the Navy in late 2010 and served aboard the amphibious warship Mesa Verde between 2011 and 2016.
His decorations include the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal and the Good Conduct Medal.
Prine came to Navy Times after stints at the San Diego Union-Tribune and Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He served in the Marine Corps and the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. His awards include the Joseph Galloway Award for Distinguished Reporting on the military, a first prize from Investigative Reporters & Editors and the Combat Infantryman Badge.
