Fayetteville Observer, 5/17/06 - The ringleader of a group of 82nd Airborne Division soldiers charged with having sex for money on a military-themed gay pornography Web site was sentenced Tuesday to three months in a military prison.

Pfc. Wesley K. Mitten is the last of three 82nd Airborne Division soldiers charged.

"The accused was the ringleader. He brought people in," Capt. Lee Zeldin, the lead prosecutor, told the judge. Mitten admitted to telling at least two soldiers in his unit about the site. He also made two films.

The judge, Col. Grant S. Jaquith, sentenced Mitten to 100 days in jail, but his plea bargain capped the jail term at three months. Under military court rules, the accused gets the lesser of the two sentences. Mitten, 21, also was demoted to private, will lose two-thirds of his pay and will receive a bad conduct discharge as part of a plea bargain.

Two other soldiers previously pleaded guilty in connection to the Web site. Pfc. Richard Ashley pleaded guilty in April to sodomy, conduct detrimental to the Army and using an unauthorized prescription drug. He was sentenced to 75 days in prison. Pvt. Kagen B. Mullen, 21, pleaded guilty earlier this month to conduct detrimental to the Army and to using marijuana. He was sentenced to 90 days in prison.

All three were assigned to Company C, 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment.

The judge questioned Mitten for about 90 minutes before accepting his guilty pleas to sodomy, conduct detrimental to the Army and using cocaine.

Mitten told the court that he was contacted by the Web site’s producer, Dennis Ashe, through the Internet in August. Ashe, a leading producer of military-themed pornography, owns three Fayetteville-based production companies: Active Duty Productions, Pink Bird Media and New Fame Media, according to the N.C. Secretary of State’s Office.

Mitten said he met with Ashe the day after he was contacted. The producer asked him to pose for nude pictures and offered to pay him $2,000 to perform in a gay pornography video. Mitten, performing under the name "Donnie," and another paratrooper met at Ashe’s house the following day and filmed a pornography video. He testified that Ashe set up a camera controlled by a computer from another room and filmed the paratroopers having sex. He made a second video with another paratrooper a few months later. Mitten told the judge that he made $6,000 from August to November.

Before accepting the plea, the judge asked Mitten why he did it. "It was for the money, your honor," Mitten told him.

Army prosecutors said Mitten had no regard for right and wrong. "He exploited other members of the unit, but it was OK because Pvt. Mitten was making a buck," Zeldin said.

Mitten’s mother, Leslie Hanson, testified on his behalf during the sentencing phase of the hearing. Hanson said her son was raised in a military family and often helped her when his father was deployed. Mitten’s father is an Army command sergeant major. Hanson said her son understands that what he did was wrong. "He does know right from wrong. I think many people make mistakes," she said.

Mitten apologized to the Army, his unit and the court. "I am sorry for disgracing my family name and my unit. I am sorry and I wish I could take it all back," he said.

Mitten is being held at Fort Bragg and will be transferred to Charleston, S.C., Quantico, Va., or Camp Lejeune to serve his sentence. Ashley and Mullen are serving their sentences in Quantico.

Four other soldiers assigned to the unit received nonjudicial punishment related to the Web site. The Army is not required to disclose the names of the four soldiers. All four were reduced in rank to private, forfeited half a month’s pay for two months, performed extra work and were restricted to Fort Bragg for 45 days. The Army has discharged one paratrooper and has recommended that the other three be discharged, division officials said.

Kagen Mullen Pleads Guilty to Gay Porn

WRAL-TV, 5/1/06 - A second Fort Bragg soldier pleaded guilty Monday to charges connected with a military-themed gay porn Web site.

Pvt. Kagen B. Mullen will spend three months in jail and then be discharged from the Army for posing on the Web site. In court Monday, he admitted to having sex for $7,500 and using marijuana.

Mullen had been charged with pandering, sodomy, wrongfully engaging in sexual acts over the Internet for money and adultery and faced up to one year in prison. As part of the plea deal, prosecutors dropped the sodomy, pandering and adultery charges.

Mullen arrived late to court with his face covered, declined to tell the judge presiding over the case his story.

Married with an infant daughter, Mullen enlisted in the Army in 2004 and had planned to serve for five years.

Sources tell WRAL that he is in the process of getting a divorce.

Mullen is one of seven members of the 82nd Airborne Division charged with appearing on the site. Last week, another paratrooper, Pfc. Richard T. Ashley, also pleaded guilty to charges connected with the case. He was sentenced to three months in prison and will also be discharged.

A third paratrooper, Pfc. Wesley K. Mitten, is awaiting trial.

The 82nd Airborne said that four other soldiers, whose names were not released, received nonjudicial punishment for appearing on the Web site. They were reduced in rank to private, forfeited half a month's pay for two months, performed extra work and were restricted to Fort Bragg for 45 days.

Background ...

Army Investigates Soldiers in Gay Porn

AP, 1/28/06 - Army officials are investigating allegations that members of the celebrated 82nd Airborne Division appear on a gay pornography Web site, a spokeswoman said Friday.

Authorities at Fort Bragg have begun an inquiry into whether the paratroopers' actions violated the military conduct code.

Division spokeswoman Maj. Amy Hannah declined to say how many paratroopers are involved or identify their unit within the division. A defense official speaking on condition of anonymity said up to seven soldiers are involved.

Hannah said soldiers questioned will be allowed to seek legal assistance, but she declined to say if any one had been charged.

"Once the investigation is complete, the chain of command will take appropriate action," Hannah said.

The military-themed Web site does not appear to make any direct reference to the 82nd Airborne or Fort Bragg. The registered owner of the Web site's domain name lists an address in Fayetteville, the city that adjoins Fort Bragg.

E-mails to the registered owner were returned Friday as undeliverable, and the phone number listed on the domain-name registration is no longer in service.

The Web site includes a disclaimer, asking users to agree that they are not agents of the U.S. government, Department of Defense, members of law enforcement or reporters.

Martha Rudd, an Army spokeswoman at the Pentagon, said soldiers accused of homosexual activity might be removed from their units, although she did not have specific information about the investigation of the 82nd. When asked if the soldiers involved had been moved out of barracks, Hannah declined to comment.

"We are concerned about the privacy and rights of each trooper involved and that they are treated with dignity and respect," Hannah said.

Maj. Todd Vician, a Defense Department spokesman in Washington, said the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy states that "homosexual orientation alone is not a bar to service, but homosexual conduct is incompatible with military service."

"We define homosexual conduct as homosexual acts or verbal or nonverbal communication that a member is homosexual," Vician said.

The 82nd Airborne is one of the most celebrated units in the military. Its 15,000 troops are trained to deploy anywhere in the world within 18 hours.

Soldiers from the division have served extensively in Iraq and Afghanistan, and several thousand troops remain overseas.

Soldiers in Alleged Gay Porn are Moved

The Fayetteville Observer, 1/30/06 - Several 82nd Airborne Division paratroopers being investigated for taking part in a military-themed gay pornography site were moved from their barracks Monday to protect their privacy, a Fort Bragg source said.

It is unclear how many paratroopers were moved.

A defense official told The Associated Press that up to seven soldiers are involved.

Maj. Amy Hannah, division spokeswoman, would not say Monday how many paratroopers are involved or identify their unit because of security and privacy concerns.

An investigation into allegations that paratroopers appeared on a Fayetteville-based pornography site is continuing, division officials said.

The division began the inquiry Friday into whether the paratroopers violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

They could face a variety of charges, said a Fort Bragg-based Army lawyer. He said that any conduct that is contrary to good order and discipline of the service could be investigated.

It is unclear when the investigation will be completed, Hannah said.

The Web site is registered to Dennis Ashe, owner of three production companies — Active Duty Productions, Pink Bird Media and New Fame Media. The site’s content is protected by a password.

The manager of the site and the director of the movies is Dink Flamingo.

"Dink himself films all of the videos featured on (the site), and takes all of the photographs," according to the site’s page of frequently asked questions.

Some of the movies produced by Pink Bird Media include "Another Tour of Duty," "Band of Lovers" and a series called "Bareback Barracks Buddies."

The site stresses that its operations are legal.

"All of the men featured on this site are 18 years of age or older, proof of which is on file. All of the men are fully aware that they are being taped," the site says.

Ashe lives in a one-story brick house on Siple Avenue in the Rayconda subdivision, according to county real estate records. It is unclear if he shoots the movies at the house.

Neighbors said he moved in last year.

Attempts to contact Ashe Monday were unsuccessful.

Most of the neighbors said Ashe is a nice man. They said he decorated for Christmas and passed out candy for Halloween. Ashe told his neighbors that he ran a graphic design firm and a computer company.

Neighbors said Ashe often threw late-night parties and had male guests, most with military-style haircuts, who visited at all hours. Several said they are often awoken by fights at the house.

"Everyone is concerned," said a neighbor who asked not to be identified. "We sort of all knew something was not right."

Several cars, including a Corvette, a black Hummer and a Mazda 6, were parked in front of his house.

"We understand it is legal to shoot porn out of your house," the neighbor said. "You would expect him to be quiet. This is a family neighborhood."

Pornstudent Comment ...

Soldiers Making Gay Porn: Time for a Career Change

The soldiers knew there was a chance they would get busted. It was risky. Are they exhibitionists or did they just want the money? Did they spend the money on cocaine? Was it a rush? One soldier made $6000 and another made $7500 for their porn work. The sentence is three months in prison and a discharge.

One paratrooper "pleaded guilty to sodomy, conduct detrimental to the Army and cocaine use." Another was charged with "pandering, sodomy, wrongfully engaging in sexual acts over the Internet for money and adultery."

When people join the military they are knowingly giving up rights and freedoms. So I'm not going to defend them. I think the sentence was reasonable. Wouldn't three months in a military prison be easier than a year in Iraq?

One soldier said he was sorry for disgracing his family name and unit. It takes a certain kind of individual be in the celebrated 82nd Airborne. Even the cocaine addicted gay porn model likes to speak with honor. I wish he would have said, "I love being gay and making porn movies. I'm sorry if my family is unhappy, but they'll just have to accept me as I am. I appreciate the army for the training they gave me and the guys in my unit for the memorable times. After prison I'd like to continue my porn career."

Good luck Wesley.

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