Gordon Black (left) was convicted in Russia over an incident with his Russian girlfriend, Alexandra Vashchuk (right)
The US Army staff sergeant who was recently convicted of stealing from his Russian girlfriend and making death threats has been cut off financially by the Department of Defense.
34-year-old Gordon Black was convicted in Russia after being arrested for allegedly stealing from her while making an unauthorized visit to the country.
Black, who is married, met Alexandra Vashchuk during a deployment in South Korea and began an extramarital affair with her.
After being sentenced to four years in a Russian penal colony last month, the Army quietly changed his status to CCA, or “Confined Civilian Authority,” according to Reuters.
While he is technically still on active duty, the Army cut all his pay and allowances.
However, the Army is allowing his family to maintain their medical benefits and on-base privileges.
During his trial, prosecutors claimed Black had grabbed Vashchuk by the neck before taking her money from her during an argument at her apartment.
Black argued that Vashchuk had drunk half a bottle of vodka on the day of the incident and had hit him.
Despite Black’s wife and mother detailing Vashchuk’s abuse of Black to the media outlets, even citing a specific incident where she was witnessed stabbing him on a video call, the Army did not provide him with any special military counsel.
According to UCMJ, he could still be punished after serving his Russian sentence for traveling to Russia without U.S. military authorization, flying through China to get there, and having an extramarital affair.
A former Army Judge Advocate General, says the Army’s decision to assign him the CCA status is controversial because he is not imprisoned in the US.
“There’s a concern here that we may be giving legitimacy to the proceedings conducted in Russia with how we reflect his duty and pay status,” he told Reuters.
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