Army prosecutors said WO1 Dawson J. Van Manen bound his wife with duct tape and recorded himself raping her, then concealed his identity on Bumble before attacking another woman. Investigators believe there may be additional victims.
Before he posed as “2nd Lt. David Johnson” on Bumble, WO1 Dawson J. Van Manen had already threatened to chop up his wife, bound her with duct tape and recorded himself raping her, according to Army prosecutors.
Van Manen, a 27-year-old Army rotary-wing aviator who publicly described himself as a UH-60 pilot, nutrition coach and certified personal trainer, was convicted April 29, 2026, at Fort Rucker of three rape specifications involving two women.
The second woman met Van Manen through Bumble under the false name and rank investigators said he used to conceal his identity. He also registered at a Navy lodging facility using the first name “David” before raping her there in August 2024, according to the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel.
A military judge sentenced Van Manen to 31 years in prison, forfeiture of all pay and allowances and a dishonorable discharge. The Army announced the conviction May 6 and warned that Van Manen may have used his false identity to encounter or abuse other women who have not yet come forward.
The Army’s account revealed a stark divide between the persona Van Manen cultivated publicly and the violence prosecutors described in court. Online, he presented himself as an aviator and fitness professional whose content centered on weightlifting, nutrition and personal discipline. At trial, prosecutors described threats of mutilation, a recorded rape, severe injuries to another woman and a deliberate effort to hide his identity.
Van Manen was assigned to B Company, 1st Battalion, 145th Aviation Regiment, 1st Aviation Brigade, at Fort Rucker.
The investigation began after a woman reported that Van Manen raped her in August 2024 at the Navy Lodge & Suites aboard Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida.
According to the Army, the woman began communicating with Van Manen through Bumble before meeting him in person for the first time at an off-base bar in Pensacola. His dating profile identified him as “2nd Lt. David Johnson,” falsely presenting him as both a commissioned officer and a man with a different name.
Van Manen reinforced that deception by registering at the Navy Lodge under the first name “David,” investigators said.
After a night of drinking and socializing, Van Manen raped the woman at the lodging facility, according to prosecutors.
The woman later went to a local hospital, where medical personnel collected evidence during a sexual-assault forensic examination. During Van Manen’s April 2026 court-martial, the nurse who examined the woman testified that her swelling and injuries were the worst she had encountered during her career, the Army said.
Agents with Army Criminal Investigation Division and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service apprehended Van Manen on Aug. 29, 2024.
Shortly after the Pensacola woman reported the rape, Van Manen’s estranged wife contacted Army CID and described what authorities characterized as years of abuse.
The Army’s post-trial announcement focused on a December 2023 attack at the couple’s home in Ozark, Alabama, near Fort Rucker.
Prosecutors said Van Manen became violent after his wife rejected his request for sex. He threatened that he wanted to chop her up and have sex with her dead body before tying her up, covering her mouth with duct tape and recording himself raping her.
After the attack, the woman called her sister and said she was terrified Van Manen would kill her, according to the Army.
Maj. Morghan Beaudoin, a Third Judicial Circuit prosecutor with the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel, credited both women with enduring the investigation and prosecution after coming forward.
“This conviction is a testament to the courage of Warrant Officer Van Manen’s victims and the diligent efforts of multiple law enforcement agencies across various military branches,” Beaudoin said in the Army’s May 6 announcement.
Lt. Col. William Wicks, a prosecutor with the Office of Special Trial Counsel’s Complex Litigation Branch, said the officer panel recognized what the women suffered at the hands of the “true Dawson Van Manen,” rather than the person concealed behind the false identity.
“We can only hope that recognition of Van Manen’s heinous conduct can help these women begin to heal,” Wicks said.
Capt. Samuel Beckwith, a prosecutor with the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence and Fort Rucker, said the two women had been left broken by Van Manen’s crimes and expressed hope that the conviction would become a first step toward healing.
Years before the criminal investigation, Van Manen described himself online as an aspiring photographer preparing to enter the Army.
In a July 2019 post to a Pensacola wedding-photography group, Van Manen said he had been trying to get a business called VanManen Photography off the ground but was changing direction after joining the military.
He said he expected to leave for basic training in September 2019 and planned to become engaged before departing. Van Manen asked photographers in the group to provide rates and samples of their work for an engagement photo session.
The post does not establish whether VanManen Photography formally opened, closed or continued operating. It does document his transition into the Army before he later became an aviation warrant officer.
Van Manen eventually developed a public image centered on military aviation, physical fitness and nutrition.
On a publicly accessible profile reviewed by The Salty Soldier, Van Manen described himself as a “Nutrition coach and CPT,” apparently referring to a certified personal trainer. He also identified himself as a UH-60 pilot.
His publicly visible videos focused heavily on weightlifting, strength training, workout routines, nutrition products and fitness advice. None of the videos reviewed by The Salty Soldier appeared to mention anabolic steroid use.
That fitness persona took on added significance during the court-martial, where Van Manen was convicted of two specifications involving the wrongful possession of Schedule III controlled substances.
In June 2025, while Van Manen remained under investigation for the reported rapes, his commander ordered him to remain on Fort Rucker.
According to the Army, Van Manen violated that order by leaving the installation to meet another woman who was not his wife.
Around the same time, his roommate discovered multiple anabolic steroids in Van Manen’s possession and heard him admit to using them, the Army said. Anabolic steroids are classified as Schedule III controlled substances under federal law.
The officer panel convicted Van Manen of two specifications of wrongfully possessing a Schedule III controlled substance and one specification of failing to obey the order restricting him to Fort Rucker.
The Army’s announcement did not identify the specific steroids involved, the quantities recovered or whether prosecutors alleged that his steroid use had any connection to the violent offenses.
Those details may be contained in Van Manen’s charge sheet or other court-martial records that have not yet been publicly released.
Van Manen was arraigned Sept. 2, 2025. A motions hearing was held Nov. 13, 2025, and his trial began April 20, 2026.
On April 29, an officer panel convicted him, contrary to his pleas, of three specifications of rape, two specifications of wrongfully possessing a Schedule III controlled substance and one specification of failing to obey a lawful order. The convictions represented violations of Articles 120, 112a and 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
The military judge imposed Van Manen’s sentence that same day.
Van Manen was not convicted of every allegation presented during the court-martial.
The panel acquitted him of seven specifications of sexual assault, four additional specifications of rape, two specifications of aggravated sexual contact, three specifications of domestic violence, two specifications of assault and one additional specification of wrongfully possessing a Schedule III controlled substance.
The publicly released court-martial result does not identify which factual allegations corresponded to each individual conviction or acquittal.
The Salty Soldier has requested records that could clarify how the allegations were divided among the individual specifications and verdicts.
The publication has also requested information about the case’s post-trial and appellate status, including whether the case has been docketed with the Army Court of Criminal Appeals.
Army CID has not publicly confirmed that additional victims have been identified. Its appeal for information indicates, however, that investigators are concerned Van Manen’s conduct may not have been limited to the two women whose cases resulted in his convictions.
Authorities specifically believe Van Manen may have used the “David Johnson” alias to meet and abuse other women.
The investigation was led by Army CID’s Fort Rucker Resident Unit and Eglin Resident Unit, with assistance from other Army CID offices and NCIS personnel at Naval Air Station Pensacola.
Special Agent in Charge Ryan O’Connor of Army CID’s Southeast Field Office said the conviction reflected the cooperation between Army CID, NCIS and military forensic and digital specialists.
“The violence perpetrated by Van Manen is a direct affront to the foundation of trust and respect on which the U.S. Army is built,” O’Connor said.
Anyone with information about Van Manen, the “David Johnson” identity or other possible crimes may submit an anonymous tip through Army CID’s P3 tips portal.
The Army said Van Manen will serve his sentence at the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Upon his release, he will be required to comply with federal and state sex-offender registration requirements.
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