Man accused of Antarctic assault was then sent to remote icefield with young graduate students

WELLINGTON – A person accused of bodily assaulting a girl at a U.S. analysis station in Antarctica was then sent to a remote icefield the place he was tasked with protective the protection of a professor and 3 young graduate students, and he remained there for a complete week after a warrant for his arrest was issued, paperwork bought by means of The Associated Press display.

Stephen Tyler Bieneman has pleaded now not to blame to misdemeanor assault over the incident ultimate November at McMurdo Station, which his attorney mentioned was not anything greater than “horseplay.” The case is due to pass to trial Monday in Honolulu.

The National Science Foundation declined to solution AP questions on why Bieneman was sent out into the sphere in a important protection function whilst beneath investigation. The case raises additional questions on decision-making within the U.S. Antarctic Program, which is already beneath scrutiny.

An AP investigation in August uncovered a pattern of girls at McMurdo who mentioned their claims of sexual harassment or assault have been minimized by means of their employers, incessantly main to them or others being installed additional risk.

And on Friday, the watchdog place of business overseeing the NSF mentioned it was sending investigators to McMurdo this month because it expands its investigative undertaking to come with crimes akin to sexual assault and stalking.

In their indictment, prosecutors say that past due on Nov. 24 or early Nov. 25 ultimate yr, a girl was sitting in a dormitory front room looking forward to her laundry when Bieneman, who were celebrating his birthday with loads of beverages, walked in.

When he went to the toilet, the girl took his title tag from his jacket as a prank and then refused to give it again, working across the finish of a settee, prosecutors say.

Bieneman then took her to the ground, put her on her again and put his left shin over her throat as he rummaged via her pocket searching for the tag, prosecutors say. The girl desperately attempted to keep up a correspondence she could not breathe, signaling a choking movement and tapping on his leg as a minute handed earlier than Bieneman in any case discovered the tag and got rid of his shin from her airway, in accordance to the indictment.

Prosecutors say the girl visited a scientific health center.

“During a follow-up visit a week later, Victim A reported improvements with respect to muscle tightness, however she was suffering from lack of sleep and appetite, anxiousness, and depression as a result of the assault,” prosecutors said in the indictment. ”Soon thereafter, Victim A left her employment at McMurdo Station.”

Bieneman’s attorney Birney Bervar mentioned in an August electronic mail to the AP that eyewitnesses did not again the girl’s tale and a physician who tested her quickly after the incident discovered no proof of “an assault of the nature and degree she described.”

Marc Tunstall, the NSF station supervisor who could also be a sworn Deputy U.S. Marshal, heard in regards to the incident on Nov. 29 and started investigating, in accordance to prosecutors.

On Dec. 10, two weeks after the incident, Bieneman and the clinical group flew by means of Twin Otter aircraft to arrange camp on the remote Allan Hills icefield, greater than 100 miles (160 kilometers) from McMurdo. The group, which research ice cores, was there to gather radar information to lend a hand make a selection a website for long run ice-core drilling.

In his function as mountaineer, Bieneman was chargeable for the protection of the gang within the unforgiving surroundings. The guy to begin with assigned the function had suffered from a mini-stroke two days earlier than his deployment, in accordance to paperwork bought by means of the AP.

Bieneman, who is going by means of his heart title Tyler, to begin with labored neatly with the group putting in camp.

“However, soon after, it became clear that something was amiss with Tyler,” University of Washington Professor Howard Conway wrote on behalf of the COLDEX field team in a complaint to the NSF that was obtained by the AP.

Conway and the graduate students did not respond to AP requests for comment.

In the complaint, Conway described Bieneman as initially being “domineering and critical” of the 2 feminine graduate students on the camp.

“One evening in the kitchen tent during the first week, he told the graduate students that earlier in the season in McMurdo he had a fight with a woman, during which he wrestled with her, and she subsequently had trouble breathing, and needed medical attention,” Conway wrote.

The professor said Bieneman portrayed himself as the victim in the incident for being under scrutiny. He said the graduate students, fearing possible retaliation if they disclosed the story, felt they had to tiptoe around Bieneman.

“It was uncomfortable and stressful to be around him because it was not possible to feel physically or emotionally safe,” Conway wrote.

Court documents show an arrest warrant was issued for Bieneman on Dec. 12.

The professor wrote that Bieneman was finally replaced at the camp on Dec. 19. He said they were never told Bieneman was under investigation or given a reason for him being pulled from his assignment. They pieced it together later when the case became public.

“We were astounded to find (1) Tyler was assigned to our team when it was already known that he was under investigation, and (2) that he remained in the field with us for a full week after he had been charged with assault,” Conway wrote within the grievance.

The NSF said the questions about Bieneman’s camp assignment were part of an active law enforcement matter and should be directed to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Hawaii. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Hawaii did not respond to a request for comment.

According to court records, when Bieneman returned to McMurdo after the camp, he was fired, given a plane ticket back to the U.S. and arrested when he landed in Hawaii. He was then released on $25,000 bail pending Monday’s trial.

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AP researcher Jennifer Farrar in New York contributed to this file.