WOMEN SAY STATEMENTS WERE COERCED : ABERDEEN RECRUITS REFUSE TO CLAIM RAPE.

Byline: Associated Press 

Five women Army recruits accused investigators Tuesday of trying to coerce them into saying they were raped by superiors in a burgeoning scandal that has civil rights advocates calling for an outside investigation.

The women said they refused to make the rape allegations, and although several servicemen were charged as a result of the women's sworn statements, none were charged with rape, an Army spokesman said.

``They pushed me and pushed me and tried to make me say rape and I wouldn't do it because it's not the truth,'' said Kathryn Leming, 22, of Harrisburg, Pa.

Officials at Aberdeen's ordnance training school, where the alleged sexual misconduct occurred, denied that investigators tried to coerce the women into making false statements.

``That is certainly not a technique that is used,'' Lt. Col. Gabriel Riesco said.

The NAACP, which organized the women's news conference, called for an independent investigation into how the military has handled the Aberdeen scandal, which prompted investigations into sexual conduct at U.S. military bases worldwide.

NAACP national leader Kweisi Mfume said the Army has a special responsibility ``to make sure that ethically, officers don't cross the line and, in this case, do something that's not only unethical but something that may be deemed to be illegal.''

``We also believe that there are possible civil rights violations on behalf of the accusers and the accused that ought to be looked at,'' he said.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has claimed the Army has unfairly targeted African-American soldiers based on complaints of white female recruits. The five women who spoke out Tuesday are all white, and the NAACP said the seven men formally charged with sexual misconduct are African-American.

But the Army says the alleged victims also include African-American women, and Riesco denied race was a factor.

``Race has never been an issue in this investigation at all. It is an investigation of sin, not skin,'' he said.

After the news conference, the base said an eighth sergeant at Aberdeen had been charged with rape Monday, bringing to 14 the number of officers there accused of sex crimes. The base declined to divulge his race, or say whether the charges resulted from the women's statements.

Army Secretary Togo West, speaking with reporters briefly on the Pentagon steps, said: ``I think we need to let these allegations be dealt with in the criminal proceedings first, and thereafter is the time to determine whether there is anything further to look at as well.''

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PHOTO Female Army privates address the media at a news conference arranged by the NAACP on Tuesday.

Associated Press