A West Point senior who was charged with a rape while visiting his hometown over the summer has been found not guilty by a Tulsa, Oklahoma, jury.

Cadet 1st Class Colton Horton, 23, was acquitted Dec. 8, his attorney told Army Times on Tuesday.

“Mr. Horton was falsely accused of rape, he always maintained his innocence and we pushed for a speedy trial and the jury found Mr. Horton not guilty,” Kevin Adams said. “We are thankful to the hard work of the jury.”

Horton had been charged with first-degree rape through force or fear, stemming from a July 11 visit with a friend, a student at the University of Tulsa, who accused him of raping her after he had come over for dinner and wine.

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Earlier in the evening, Tulsa police told Army Times in August, the alleged victim had gone to a neighbor’s home to try to get help removing Horton, but that there were no signs of him when the two returned to the apartment.

The victim told police she did not remember consenting, but that she remembered having intercourse with Horton.

“Colton, a member of the Class of 2018, will return for spring semester in January,” Lt. Col. Chevelle Thomas, a West Point spokeswoman, told Army Times on Friday.

While Horton was arrested on campus and extradited back to Oklahoma last summer, the academy is not pursuing a misconduct investigation.

“At the time of his departure from West Point in August, he was in good standing and there are no outstanding infractions related to Cadet Horton’s performance at the academy,” Thomas said.



Meghann Myers is the Pentagon bureau chief at Military Times. She covers operations, policy, personnel, leadership and other issues affecting service members.

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