NEW ALBANY — The U.S. Army is investigating claims that a recruiter showed a group of Charlestown High School students nude photos on his iPhone.
Donna King, of Jeffersonville, said her 18-year-old son Nicholas Gardiner told her that a recruiter came to class Monday morning and showed him images of a topless woman.
“He was talking about the perks and was saying you get to drive a Humvee, you get to drive around in a car you don’t have to pay for,” King said. “As he’s doing that, he’s going through his iPhone and shows a picture of a naked woman and says, ‘That’s another perk. This is someone I recruited two years ago.’”
She said her son responded by saying, “Oh my gosh, are you serious?” and then walked away.
She said the recruiter tried to laugh it off, but her son was surprised a military recruiter would show naked images to a group of students. They say a group of five of six students were there at the time.
Although she knows her son has seen the images, King said she is concerned that the recruiter has shown these images to other students.
“I just want him to learn before this gets out of hand,” she said. “I teach my kids that you don’t look at a woman’s body like this.”
King said she was married to a military man for 10 years, and her son was disappointed by the recruiter’s actions because he respects the uniform.
Brian Lepley, a public affairs officer with the U.S. Army Accessions Command in Fort Knox, Ky., said they are conducting an investigation to determine what happened.
Unlike most other recruiters, the one who allegedly showed the images is not assigned to a particular school.
“He has a tricked-out Humvee he drives around the country,” Lepley said.
Lepley said that particular recruiter, who is based in Fort Knox, uses the Humvee to get the attention of students. Lepley said the recruiter will not have contact with any students while the investigation is ongoing.
Lepley said recruiters are required to go to a special school and go through training.
“Improprieties like this are really few and far between,” Lepley said. “We just don’t get reports like this very frequently.”
Lepley said they will be in contact with the school and other students who may have seen the images in question. “This is not the only student that was there at the time,” he said.
King believes the military has not acted quickly enough to investigate the claims. She said military personnel contacted her 24 hours after she reported the incident, but they told her they had not had a chance to speak with the recruiter.
“I said, ‘You’ve given him ample time to get rid of the photograph,’” King said.
Greater Clark County Schools spokeswoman Erin Bojorquez said the incident was reported to the principal and then passed along to the school corporation. They contacted the military.
Indiana Code requires that military services be allowed access to high school campus to recruit.
“This will not affect future recruiting,” Bojorquez said. “Greater Clark County Schools has a fantastic relationship with the Armed Forces’ recruiting personnel and this was an unfortunate isolated incident.”
Gardiner is a student at Jeffersonville High School but takes automotive classes at Charlestown High School.
