One of the soldiers accused of hounding Private Danny Chen to his death, Specialist Ryan Offutt, has a violent criminal past. In 2001, Offutt brutally beat and choked his former girlfriend, stripping her and throwing her on a bed. He pleaded guilty to assault charges and served time in prison. Offutt is one of four soldiers facing the most serious charges, including negligent homicide, in the death of Danny Chen. Chen was found dead in Afghanistan in October after allegedly being severely bullied by fellow soldiers over his Asian ethnicity. Eight soldiers total have been charged in his death.

1. FROM: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2077768/Revealed-The-criminal-past-soldier-accused-
bullying-Asian-American-soldier-Danny-Chen-death.html
In accordance with Federal Laws provided For Educational and Information Purposes – i.e. of PUBLIC Interest
Revealed: The criminal past of one soldier accused of
tormenting Private Danny Chen to his death
 Private Danny Chen, 19, found dead on duty in October
 Allegedly bullied by other soldiers who hounded him
 One of the eight soldiers accused of bullying him has a violent criminal
past, it has emerged
 Ryan Offutt served time in prison for beating and stripping former
lover
By Hannah Roberts
Last updated at 11:39 PM on 22nd December 2011
One of the soldiers accused of hounding Private Danny Chen to his death punched and choked
his former girlfriend in a sadistic beating in 2001, it has emerged.
Specialist Ryan Offutt stripped her and threw her on a bed 'so hard that she smashed into the
headboard.' The victim told police she believed she 'was going to die,' court records show.
The revelations have emerged as eight soldiers have been charged over the death of fellow
soldier Danny Chen in Afghanistan, in a suicide case that has rocked the Army.
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2. Criminal: Specialist Ryan Offutt punched and choked his ex-girlfriend, stripping her, in a sadistic beating in 2001
Private Danny Chen, 19, of New York, was found in a guard tower at Combat Outpost Palace
on October 3 after apparently committing suicide.
The Army described Private Chen as having 'an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound' when
found in southern Afghanistan's Kandahar province.
It is now no longer clear whether Private Chen, who was from the Chinatown area of
Manhattan, did in fact take his own life.
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The beefy, Offutt from Greenville, who measured more than 6ft is thought to have been among
the worst of the alleged bullies.
The 32-year-old is one of four soldiers facing the most heinous charges: negligent homicide,
reckless endangerment and assault and battery. If convicted all four face up to 15 years in jail
In October 2001 Offutt was charged with aggravated assault and attempted rape, the Daily
News reported.
His former girlfriend told police he beat her and ripped off her clothes.
'Offutt tried to have intercourse with her,' a criminal complaint alleged. She 'had to fight Offutt
to escape.'

3. Death: Private Danny Chen, 19, of New York, was found dead in a guard tower at Combat Outpost Palace on
October 3 after apparently committing suicide
In action: Sergeant Travis F. Carden was one of eight soldiers charged
The soldier's roommates woke up to the noise of the girl screaming, the complaint states. They
found her 'naked and bleeding from the face.'

4. Offutt pleaded guilty to simple assault and indecent assault and was sentenced to four months
to two years in prison. He was also obliged to attend drug and alcohol treatment.
Offutt joined the army in 2006 and is based at Fort Wainright, Alaska.
First Lt. Daniel Schwartz, the only officer charged with Chen’s death, also has a record, the
Daily News reported.
The 25-year-old Maryland man was arrested five yeasr ago for possession of a controlled
substance, according to records.
Eight U.S. Army soldiers have been charged over the death of an Asian-American soldier in
Afghanistan who was allegedly severely racially bullied.
Private Danny Chen, 19, of New York, was found dead in a guard tower at Combat Outpost
Palace on October 3 after apparently committing suicide.
The Army described Private Chen as having ‘an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound’ when
found in southern Afghanistan's Kandahar province.
Hundreds of supporters held a vigil last week after demanding officials address the treatment
of Asians in the military, reported MSNBC.
His cousin Banny Chen read out a letter sent by Private Chen in February at the vigil last
Thursday, which said: ‘Everyone knows me by Chen’.
Sadness: A portrait of U.S. Army Private Danny Chen is displayed during his funeral procession in New York on
October 13 after his death in Afghanistan

5. Grieving: The casket of Private Danny Chen is carried by an honour guard during a funeral procession in New
York two months ago
Watch: Private Chen was found dead in October in a guard tower in southern Afghanistan's Kandahar province
(file picture)
‘They ask if I'm from China a few times a day,’ he wrote. ‘They also call out my name Chen in
a goat-like voice sometimes for no reason.
'They ask if I'm from China a few times a day. They also call out my name
Chen in a goat-like voice sometimes for no reason'
Danny Chen (Feb 2011)

6. ‘People crack jokes about Chinese people all the time. I'm running out of jokes to come back at
them.’
Around 400 people were at the vigil and march last week in Manhattan as Occupy Wall Street
protesters also got involved.
Asian Pacific Americans civil rights group OCA has expressed outrage at what happened and
have their own theory on why he was allegedly abused.
Conference: The OCA's Elizabeth OuYang speaks in New York on Wednesday while Private Chen's parents, Yan
Tao Chen, left, and Su Zhen Chen, right, listen
Remembered: Danny Chen is pictured with his family in an emotional video which features his friends and
relatives asking: 'What happened to Danny?'

7. Answers: Hundreds of supporters held a vigil last week after demanding officials address the treatment of Asians
in the military
‘They did it because they knew that there was an environment that they would get away with
it,’ an OCA spokesman said, reported NBC New York.
FAMILY ENCOURAGED
Relatives of Private Chen said on Wednesday they are encouraged to learn of the charges
brought.
His father Yen Tao Chen said the family realises he will never return, but the news 'gives us
some hope'.
First Lieutenant Daniel J. Schwartz, Staff Sergeant Blaine G. Dugas and Staff Sergeant
Andrew J. Van Bockel were all charged.
Sergeant Adam M. Holcomb, Sergeant Jeffrey T. Hurst, Specialist Thomas P. Curtis, Specialist
Ryan J. Offutt and Sergeant Travis F. Carden were also charged.
All eight soldiers are of 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat
Team, 25th Infantry Division.