A U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer accused of rape, sexual assault, cruelty and maltreatment, making a false official statement and failure to obey a lawful order will face a court-martial expected to begin in September in Charleston, S.C. The decision by Vice Adm. Robert C. Parker, Atlantic Area Commander, is based on the recommendation of an Article 32 hearing completed May 22, 2013, that reasonable grounds exist to try Petty Officer 2nd Class Omar Gomez, 35. The charges follow a six-month-long Coast Guard investigation which revealed that Gomez, the sole member charged in this case, engaged in a broad spectrum of sexually related misconduct ranging from rape to inappropriate comments, involving two civilians and six Coast Guard women.