Colonel at Wright-Patt facing sex charge

A military officer employed at the Air Force Materiel Command headquarters at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base has been charged with sexual imposition, according to court records and the Air Force.

Air Force Col. Mayan Shah, 49, faces a scheduled jury trial on the charge Thursday in Dayton Municipal Court, court records show. Shah, of Fairborn, has entered a not guilty plea to the third-degree misdemeanor offense, court records said.

Shah is a research analyst in the AFMC headquarters’ Office of Strategic Planning, Programs and Analyses, according to an Air Force statement. He has worked within the organization since August 2011, the statement said. The officer continues to work in that role, according to AFMC spokesman Ron Fry.

The alleged incident happened Aug. 25, 2012, at Carillon Park in Dayton, court records show. The time on the police report is 5:50 p.m. The date was also the same as the AleFest event which draws thousands to the park and ended at 5 p.m., but there was nothing on any of the reports connecting the events.

“The Air Force has zero tolerance for sexual assault, to include sexual imposition, and we are unequivocal in our commitment to prevent such incidents,” Fry said in a statement.

The Dayton Daily News attempted to reach Shah’s attorney, Richard S. Skelton, for comment late Monday afternoon.

A portion of a Dayton police report released to the media did not include details of the alleged incident. The report listed a 31-year-old and a 24-year-old as complainants. Court records also provided no additional details.

Court records said in part sexual imposition is unlawful sexual contact with another who is not someone’s spouse. A court filing listed a female as an alleged victim. A police report listed her age as 24-years-old.

In a court filing of proposed jury instructions, Skelton defined the alleged offense in part as proving beyond a reasonable doubt that a defendant purposely, knowingly or recklessly engaged in touching of an erogenous zone for the purpose of sexually arousing or gratifying either person.

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