Grand Forks Airman Gets 34 Years for Rape

A senior airman from Grand Forks AFB, N.D., was sentenced to 34 years in prison for raping the wife of a deployed Grand Forks airman in August 2013, according to a Jan. 17 base release. SrA. Jory Hodge will be required to serve 20 years of the sentence after agreeing to plead guilty to all charges, including rape by threat, sodomy, assault consummated by a batter, burglary, and communicating a threat. In addition, he received a dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of pay, and reduction in rank to E-1. After attending a party, and declaring his intent to have sex with the victim, Hodge drove to the victim’s house, broke in and sexually assaulted her. After the attack, a base-wide search was declared and Hodge was taken into custody days later. Col. Paul Bauman, 319th Air Base Wing commander, said airmen who commit crimes must be held fully accountable, though he stressed that the vast majority of airmen serve with integrity and excellence. “We must foster an environment of dignity and respect for all our airmen and their families,” he said.