Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillen may have been harassed, Army officials said

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Saturday, July 11, 2020
Family of missing soldier said she complained of sexual harassment
Family of Vanessa Guillen said she confided in them about two sexual harassment incidents before she went missing. Here's what they said happened.

KILLEEN, Texas (KTRK) -- Investigators found information in Fort Hood solider Vanessa Guillen's case that shows she may have been harassed, said U.S. Army officials.

In June, Guillen's family made allegations Guillen was sexually harassed while at Fort Hood. Her family and their attorney said that prior to her disappearance, she confided in her mother and friends about being sexually harassed on the military base.

Now, investigators are saying information was found that points to some harassment, but the harassment was not sexual.

However, officials did say that someone may have said sexual comments to Guillen, but the comments didn't come from Aaron Robinson who is said to have killed her. In fact, they didn't find any evidence of a relationship, besides a professional one, between Guillen and Robinson after checking phone records and text messages.

According to the Army officials, investigators also didn't find any records that would show Guillen filed any complaints, nor did anyone in her chain of command say she ever discussed any sort of harassment with them.

The information found has been provided to officials investigating a broader sexual assault claim at Fort Hood.

Previously, attorney Natalie Khawam said she's discovered at least two alleged incidents of sexual harassment -- a superior walking in on Vanessa showering and another verbally assaulting Vanessa with vulgar remarks in Spanish. Khawam said she's worried about how this case might turn out. She said Vanessa told loved ones she didn't want to report the sexual harassment out of fear of retaliation.

"The facts aren't good. I don't like them," said Khawam. "There were a few incidents where she had told her colleagues, her friends, her family about being sexually harassed, but she was afraid to report it."

In June, the Army released a statement where they said part of the following about allegations spreading on social media, without addressing a specific question.

"At this point, investigators have no credible information or report that Vanessa Guillen was sexually assaulted."

But now, investigators explained they can't definitively say if sexual harassment was or was not involved.

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