A Fort Bliss soldier has been charged with sexual assault of a 19-year-old female soldier who was found dead in her barracks on New Year’s Eve.
Pfc. Christian G. Alvarado has been formally accused of three sexual assaults. He is accused of raping Pfc. Asia Graham, 19, while she was unconscious on December 30th, 2019 at the Texas base.
Graham was found dead in her barracks on December 31, 2020.
Alvarado was arraigned during a general court-martial at Fort Bliss on one charge of aggravated assault, two charges of making false statements, and three charges of sexual assault.
Even though Graham’s cause of death has not been released, the Army ruled out foul play and are still waiting for autopsy results.
Graham joined the Army as a human resource specialist in July 2019. After completing Advanced Individual Training in South Carolina and Basic Combat Training in Missouri, she arrived at the Texas base in December 2019.
According to reports, Graham had only been at Fort Bliss for a few weeks when the assault happened.
Six months later, she reported the incident to her chain of command and an investigation started.
Alvarado was interviewed by CID agents on June 11, which is when he allegedly made false statements to officers.
He told an investigator that Graham had been on top of him during the intercourse. But because Graham had been unconscious, the CID agent said that Alvarado’s claim was false.
The 19-year-old’s heartbroken mother, Nicole Graham, told WBTV that her daughter was “a beautiful soul” with a smile that could “lit up the room.”
“I was with the military life. I spoke very highly about the military, but in her situation, I think the leadership failed her,” she expressed.
“Do I think she was murdered? No. But do I think if it would have handled better from the beginning, I think she would have had the proper help before and she would have been OK.”
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