The US Army has accused Private Travis King of crimes ranging from defecting to North Korea in July to assault against fellow soldiers and soliciting child pornography, according to documents obtained by Reuters.

The Army’s case against King, which was not previously reported, includes eight separate charges under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, setting up a major legal battle for the 23-year-old soldier following his release from North Korean custody in September. It will start.

The army did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a statement provided by a family spokesperson, King’s mother, Claudine Gates, expressed her selfless love and asked that her son be “given the presumption of innocence.”

“The man I raised, the man I left in boot camp, the man I spent the holidays with before deployments, he didn’t drink,” Gates said. “A mother knows her son, and I believe something happened to me while he was deployed. The Army promised to investigate what happened at Camp Humphreys, and I’m awaiting the results “

For weeks, the U.S. military has sidestepped the question of whether King would face disciplinary action, saying its priority was to ensure the soldier received proper care after being detained by North Korea for two months. meet.

Reading US soldier Travis King returns home after being expelled by North Korea

His release by North Korea in September was followed by weeks of behind-the-scenes negotiations, after which the Swedish government took the king from North Korea and brought him across the border to China to be handed over to the US ambassador.

King was taken to a military hospital in Texas on September 28 for medical evaluation, including his mental health.

Details about King’s treatment in North Korean custody are still scarce and the soldier has not publicly explained why he fled to one of the world’s most reclusive countries on July 19.

But the Army’s charge sheet accuses him of widespread misconduct before that incident, including an attempt to escape from US military custody in October 2022.

King was accused of soliciting a Snapchat user to “knowingly and willingly produce child pornography” in July 2023. He was also accused of possessing child pornography.

He was also charged with insubordination for leaving his base after curfew and drinking alcohol in violation of Army regulations.

King’s family has hired a legal team for his defense, including Franklin Rosenblatt, who served as the lead military defense attorney during the court martial proceedings against Bowe Bergdahl, family spokesman Jonathan Franks said in a statement. Had worked as.

Bergdahl was an army sergeant who was detained by the Taliban for five years after leaving his post in Afghanistan in 2009.

“I am grateful for the extraordinary legal team representing my son, and I look forward to my son’s day in court,” King’s mother, Claudine Gates, said in a statement.

King, who joined the army in January 2021, was charged with two counts of assault in South Korea. According to court documents, he pleaded guilty to assault and destruction of public property, including damaging a police car while making profane remarks against Koreans.

Rather than pay the fine, King chose to spend more than a month in South Korean custody.

King had already faced disciplinary action in the United States following his release from South Korean custody. He was on his way home when he slipped through Seoul’s international airport and headed for a civilian tour of the border area between North and South Korea.

King then quickly crossed the border into North Korea. He was immediately taken into North Korean custody.

The third charge against the king was that of desertion. The military said King left the Army in South Korea with the intention of remaining away permanently “and remain absent in desertion until or about September 27, 2023.”