A U.S. Army Staff Sergeant assigned to an Air Defense Artillery unit at Fort Hood has been sentenced to 30 years in confinement following a general court-martial conviction involving a child-related sexual offense. The case remains in post-trial litigation as the defense seeks to overturn the verdict.
Staff Sgt. Dalton M. Simpson, assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 4th Battalion, 5th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, III Armored Corps, was tried by general court-martial from October 6–10, 2025, at Fort Hood, Texas.
According to the referred charge sheet, between on or about December 28, 2023, and April 6, 2024, Simpson was accused of committing a serious sexual offense involving a child under the age of 12. Additional details are contained in court records but are not described here due to their sensitive nature.
The charge was referred to a general court-martial on January 8, 2024. Simpson was later placed in pretrial confinement on July 24, 2024.
A panel of officers with enlisted representation convicted Simpson at trial and sentenced him to:
- 30 years confinement
- Reduction to the grade of E-1
- Total forfeiture of all pay and allowances
- A dishonorable discharge
Simpson enlisted in the Army on September 18, 2012, and initially served as an Infantryman (11C), an indirect fire infantry mortarman. During his early service, he deployed with a unit subordinate to the 10th Mountain Division.
He later advanced to the rank of Staff Sergeant and reclassified into Air Defense Artillery as a 14T (Patriot Launching Station Enhanced Operator/Maintainer). At the time of the charges, he was assigned to 4th Battalion, 5th Air Defense Artillery Regiment at Fort Hood.
Following the trial, Simpson’s defense counsel filed a post-trial motion asking the military judge to set aside the conviction, arguing that the evidence presented at trial was legally insufficient.
According to the U.S. Army Office of Special Trial Counsel, the military judge has now denied that motion.
Simpson is currently serving his sentence at the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Simpson enlisted in the Army on September 18, 2012, and initially served as an Infantryman (11C), an indirect fire infantry mortarman. During his early service, he deployed with a unit subordinate to the 10th Mountain Division.
He later advanced to the rank of Staff Sergeant and reclassified into Air Defense Artillery as a 14T (Patriot Launching Station Enhanced Operator/Maintainer). At the time of the charges, he was assigned to 4th Battalion, 5th Air Defense Artillery Regiment at Fort Hood.
With the post-trial motion denied, the case will now proceed through the military appellate process.
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