SOLDIER CHARGED
Travis King, 23, hit with disturbing new charges after soldier ‘deserted’ US Army and darted into North Korea
A US soldier who darted into North Korea has been charged with eight offenses including desertion and possession of child pornography.
Army Private Travis King, 23, ran across the Demilitarized Zone on July 18 and was promptly captured by North Korean authorities.
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He remained in custody there until last month, when American and Swedish officials managed to broker his release.
King is now facing eight different charges under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, according to , which broke the news.
The soldier, who was flown to a military hospital in Texas on September 28, has not publicly explained why he ran across the border.
Military officials have deferred questions about King's legal fate for weeks.
They said their efforts had been focused on nursing him back to health after he was in captivity for two months.
On Thursday, it emerged that King is accused of using Snapchat to ";knowingly and willingly" solicit another user to "produce child pornography" in July.
He was also charged with assaulting fellow soldiers and disobeying a superior officer, according documents reviewed by Reuters.
King faces an insubordination charge for allegedly breaking curfew and leaving base, in addition to drinking alcohol in violation of Army regulations.
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Last October, he allegedly attempted to escape from US military custody.
The private, who joined the Army in January 2021, also faced two allegations of assault in South Korea.
King pleaded guilty to assault and destroying public property after he damaged a police car during a profane tirade against Koreans.
For that, he opted to spend more than a month in prison instead of paying a fine.
King was slated to face disciplinary action in the US after his release.
But on his way home, King slipped out Seoul's airport and made his way to the North Korean border.
There, the soldier joined a tour group and escaped into the isolated communist nation.
Reuters also received a statement from the soldier's mother Claudine Gates.
She asked that King be afforded the presumption of innocence.
"The man I raised, the man I dropped off at boot camp, the man who spent the holidays with me before deploying did not drink," Gates said.
"A mother knows her son, and I believe something happened to mine while he was deployed.
"The Army promised to investigate what happened at Camp Humphreys, and I await the results."
King and his family are being represented by a legal team including Franklin Rosenblatt, who served as lead military defense counsel during the court proceedings against Bowe Bergdahl.
That soldier was held in Taliban captivity for five years after he walked off his post in Afghanistan in 2009.
"Private King is charged with alleged violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice," a US Army spokesperson told The U.S. Sun.
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"To protect the privacy of Private King, the Army will not comment on the details of ongoing litigation.
"Private King is presumed innocent of the charges until proven guilty."
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