A federal jury convicted an Atlanta man last week of sexually and physically abusing two children while he was a U.S. Army soldier stationed in Germany.
What happened: 39-year-old Adam Schlueter was posted in Grafenwöhr, Germany from 2009 to 2013. During those years, he choked, beat, and sexually assaulted two children. Both were under age 10 when the sexual abuse took place. One child testified that Schlueter pushed him through a second-story window and held him dangling above the ground when the child was 8 years old.
What’s important: Schlueter threatened to harm or kill anyone who reported the abuse, according to testimony at trial. After four days of proceedings in federal court in Atlanta, a jury found him guilty on April 17.
The charges: Schlueter was convicted on two counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child under age 12 and two counts of assault causing serious physical injury. Each sexual abuse conviction carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years in prison. He could also receive a life sentence.
The bottom line: “When he should have been honorably defending our country with the utmost integrity, Schlueter instead spent years terrorizing his young victims through physical and sexual abuse,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg.
What’s next: Schlueter is scheduled to be sentenced July 9. Assistant U.S. Attorney Leanne Marek and Justice Department Trial Attorney McKenzie Hightower are prosecuting the case. The FBI investigated.
B.T. Clark
B.T. Clark is an award-winning journalist and the Publisher of The Georgia Sun. He has 25 years of experience in journalism and served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta for 15 years and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc. for 8 years. His work has appeared in several newspapers throughout the state including Neighbor Newspapers, The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal. He is a Georgia native and a fifth-generation Georgian.
