Military panel finds Army officer guilty of domestic violence during Fort Lee trial

Army Office of Special Trial Counsel:

"FORT LEE, Va. — An Army logistics officer was convicted of domestic violence crimes by a military panel during his trial Oct. 26-30 at the Fort Lee courtroom.

Capt. Austin D. Barker, 28, assigned to the Army Sustainment University Support Battalion at Fort Lee, was sentenced by the military judge to four months in prison and a dismissal from the Army.

On various occasions between January and November 2022, Barker physically assaulted his intimate partner, a junior enlisted Soldier, when he lived in Petersburg, Virginia, and later in Hopewell, Virginia. She did not report the incidents at that time for fear of reprisal.

Years later, the victim came forward with the allegations after seeing Barker at Fort Lee in January 2025.

She provided investigators several photographs of injuries inflicted by Barker, as well as an incriminating doorbell camera video.

“Capt. Barker’s conviction and dismissal have provided closure on a chapter of pain on the part of the crime victim. This sentence also sends a message to the force that the Army holds officers accountable for their conduct, on or off duty, and that we do not tolerate domestic violence by any Soldier,” said Capt. Kenneth J. Hall, prosecutor, First Circuit, Army Office of Special Trial Counsel.

“Our duty is to follow the evidence wherever it leads, and here it revealed persistent domestic violence,” said Special Agent in Charge Jacob Cameron, Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division, Washington Field Office. “Today’s result reflects the extraordinary courage of the victim to come forward, and the relentless efforts of our special agents alongside our partners at the Petersburg Police Department.”

Barker will serve his confinement at the Midwest Joint Regional Confinement Facility, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

This case was investigated by the Petersburg Police Department, and Army CID’s Fort Lee Resident Agency. It was prosecuted by Hall and Capt. Justin R. Purves, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Combined Arms Support Command and Fort Lee.

About the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel:

The Army Office of Special Trial Counsel is composed of specially trained military lawyers, legal professionals and support staff responsible for the expert prosecution of murder, sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, kidnapping and other serious criminal offenses. Headquartered at Fort Belvoir, Va., OSTC has eight regional headquarters that oversee 28 field offices located worldwide, including locations in Europe and Korea. For more information visit http://www.army.mil/ostc.

If you would like to report a crime, have information about a crime, or have been the subject or survivor of a crime, you can submit anonymous tips to Army CID at https://usg01.safelinks.protection.office365.us/?url=https%3A%2F%2Firis.les.mil%2Fa%2Fcid&data=05%7C02%7Cmichelle.m.madej.civ%40army.mil%7C434689df3eef46b1d22108df34ebbf17%7Cfae6d70f954b481192b60530d6f84c43%7C0%7C0%7C639287859252764224%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=b66Iv%2F%2B7KUvFojb0uZlz4Awx8O4PUM668dZqi%2BRlVtM%3D&reserved=0."