By Michelle McCaskill, Army Office of Special Trial Counsel

FORT HOOD, Texas – An Army Warrant Officer with 22 years of service was convicted by a military panel for attempted sexual assault of a child and attempted sexual abuse of a child during his trial Sept. 15 – 18 at the Lawrence Williams Judicial Center.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Richard D. Caroll, 42, an information services technician assigned to the 11th Field Hospital, 1st Medical Brigade, III Armored Corps, was sentenced by the military judge to 16 years in prison and a dismissal from the Army.

On Sept. 1, 2025, Caroll began communicating with an undercover detective with the Austin Police Department, Austin, Texas, posing as a 14-year-old girl on the social media website Hush.

Soon after engaging with the undercover detective, Caroll began sending sexual messages and lewd communications which continued for several days.

Ultimately, he requested they meet for sex and arranged a meeting on Sept. 3, 2025. He traveled from his home in Temple, Texas, to Austin with the plan to meet her near a school.

When he arrived, Caroll was arrested by the Austin PD.

“This case represents holding a Soldier and officer responsible for attempting to prey on children, regardless of their rank or position,” said Capt. Kristyn Dial, prosecutor, Fifth Circuit, Army Office of Special Trial Counsel. “The conviction was possible based on the close cooperation between the Austin Police Department, Travis County, and the Army throughout the entire investigation and prosecution process. The effective cooperation allowed Chief Warrant Officer 2 Caroll to be brought to justice.”

“This conviction illustrates the gravity of Caroll’s conduct,” said Special Agent in Charge Lane Allen, Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division Central Texas Field Office. “By leveraging our vital partnerships with local law enforcement and Army prosecutors, we combine our capabilities to maximize our jurisdiction and aggressively pursue anyone who attempts to exploit or abuse the most vulnerable.”

Caroll will serve his prison sentence at the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.Upon release, he will be subject to federal and state sex offender registration requirements.

This case was investigated by the Austin PD and Army CID’s Central Texas Field Office. It was prosecuted by Dial and Capt. Margarita Hernandez, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, III Armored Corps.

About the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel: The Army Office of Special Trial Counsel is composed of specially trained military lawyers, legal professionals and support staff responsible for the expert prosecution of murder, sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, kidnapping and other serious criminal offenses. Headquartered at Fort Belvoir, Va., OSTC has eight regional headquarters that oversee 28 field offices located worldwide, including locations in Europe and Korea. For more information visit http://www.army.mil/ostc.

To Report a Crime: If you would like to report a crime, have information about a crime, or have been the subject or survivor of a crime, you can submit anonymous tips to Army CID at http://www.p3tips.com/armycid.