In the summer of 1999, Laura Sandler walked into the office of her boyfriend’s Fort Bragg commander, holding a stack of police documents detailing a months-long streak of abuse by the soldier, Joshua Ott.
There was the April 10 report, in which she said he dragged her by the hair and threw her into his car. There was the May 5 report about his death threat. There was the recent restraining order from a local civilian judge.
Crying, a pregnant Sandler told them she feared for herself and the baby she carried. She wanted help.
“Yes, this is serious,” she recalled Ott’s captain telling her.
His commanders ordered him into anger-management classes. Sandler said Ott only got angrier.
A few months later, after she had delivered their baby, she decided to visit his barracks on the North Carolina base to retrieve her books and personal belongings, she said. Figuring she would be safe while other soldiers were around, she knocked on his door. His roommates were sleeping.
She later told police that after she and Ott argued, he dragged her into his bathroom, grabbed her by the neck, slammed her against the wall, pushed her against the toilet, shook her and bent her fingers back. Trying to fend him off, she scratched his abdomen. He then told her to get out.
Ott’s version: Sandler angrily showed up at his barracks asking if he was going to beat her up in front of his friends, then started scratching him after he tried to hug her.
Investigators found both of them responsible but didn’t prosecute, she said.
Later, she returned to see his commanders.
She showed them the report of the latest incident. They had no reaction, she said. She left, asking that they keep him away from her.
Ott continued to harass her until he was discharged and left Fort Bragg, she said.
“He realized he was untouchable,” Sandler said. Ott could not be reached for comment.
Sandler now lives in the Fayetteville area, where she works part-time doing research for her father’s radio talk show. She also has spoken out about domestic violence, speaking at a congressional hearing and at fundraisers for victims of domestic violence.
She said she still lives in fear of Ott and has trouble trusting men.
“Basically, Joshua and their commanders escaped accountability for the devastation they caused,” she said. “All we have to protect us are the laws and the systems that are put in place, and when they are neglected, women not only die but they are left with lifelong scars that may or may not heal.”
