Steven Muñoz (Trump Assistant) Sexually Assaulted Younger Male Cadets

 Steven Munoz, sexually abusing younger, newer cadets at the Citadel

The suspect in a sexual misconduct case at the Citadel in South Carolina is a former Rick Santorum campaign aide who also did advance work for the Romney campaign, according to an internal Citadel email obtained by BuzzFeed. 

A 23-year-old Citadel graduate, who according to the email obtained by BuzzFeed is Steven Munoz, is accused of mistreating two younger cadets during his time at the Citadel. Two cadets filed police reports last week against Munoz, who graduated last year, according to local news reports — which did not name Munoz or mention his campaign tie — and the internal email. One of the cadets reportedly charged that the suspect harrassed him in 2010 when the victim was a freshman, and the other alleged three incidents involving groping and assault in February 2011.

The full details of the police report can be read at the local CBS affiliate. The Citadel issued a statement to cadets which reads in part: "In compliance with provisions of the federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act of 1990, The Citadel Public Safety Department is giving notice of recently received reports concerning a recent graduate. These reports allege that, while a cadet, the individual had inappropriate contact of a sexual nature with cadets. The circumstances of these assaults, which occurred 18 months or more ago, suggest that the assailant used his authority over the victims to get close to them." 

According to an email sent from Jeffrey Perez on Monday, September 17, Vice President of External Affairs at the Citadel, to other Citadel officials (and addressed to the military academy's Board of Visitors), the suspect in the case is Munoz. The email was forwarded to BuzzFeed by a third party who has advised members of the Citadel Board of Visitors in the past. 

In the email, Perez writes, "We anticipate a story in tomorrow’s paper and have reason to believe that Sen. Santorum will be a focus." It describes an interaction with the Charleston Post and Courier's Glenn Smith, who had asked for incident reports and indicated that he had received a tip about an assistant to Santorum, according to the email. 

The email continues:

Should you receive media inquiries please direct them to my office.Should you receive inquiries from constituents, the following talkingpoints may be useful.

· We don’t know if Mr. Munoz is employed by Sen. Santorum.

· While the alleged incidents occurred 18 months ago, andlonger, Public Safety received reports about them only last week. Public Safety acted on those reports and sent cadets a message.

· The college sent the notice to cadets not just because the Clery Act dictated we do so, but because it was the right thing to do — we cannot too often urge our students to be careful.

· The college has requested that SLED [the South Carolina state law enforcement agency] participate in aninvestigation, pursuant to the federal Jessica Horton Law. We willcooperate fully with SLED.

· The college did not transmit a Clery Act notice in 2007 because the allegation against Mr. ReVille did not fall into one of the nine categories listed in the Clery Act. Simply put, no one was touched.

SLED refers to the State Law Enforcement Division, and ReVille is a Citadel graduate and former counselor at the school's summer camp who is in prison after being convicted of molesting dozens of children, according to the Post and Courier. 

Munoz did not respond to a request for comment. Nor did spokespeople for the Citadel or Sen. Santorum. A Romney campaign spokeswoman declined to comment. 

Munoz ran Santorum's presidential campaign's advance team, and is listed as receiving payment from the Romney campaign for Event Consulting on two occasions, one in June and one in July, in FEC filings. A Romney campaign official told BuzzFeed that Munoz "was never an employee of the campaign" but simply "did a few ad hoc projects for us on a per diem basis."

Rosie Gray is a reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in Washington, D.C. Gray reports on politics and foreign policy.

Contact Rosie Gray at rosie@buzzfeed.com.