Former Army soldier sentenced to life for sexually abusing children in Germany

Adam Schlueter, 40, of Atlanta, was sentenced to life in prison and lifetime supervised release for physically and sexually assaulting two minors under the age of 10, the Justice Department announced.

According to evidence presented at trial, Schlueter was stationed in Grafenwöhr, Germany, while serving in the Army from 2009 to 2013. While there, he physically, emotionally and sexually abused two minor victims. Both victims testified that Schlueter choked and beat them and subjected them to other forms of severe physical abuse. One victim testified that Schlueter pushed the victim through a second-story window and dangled the child above the ground at age 8.

Schlueter also sexually assaulted both victims when they were under 10, according to trial evidence. He used threats to prevent the victims and other witnesses from reporting the abuse, including threatening to kill one witness.

A federal jury in the Northern District of Georgia convicted Schlueter in April.

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said Schlueter betrayed the honor and duty associated with serving in the U.S. military. “There is nothing honorable about subjecting the most vulnerable in our community to violence and sexual exploitation,” Duva said, thanking the survivors for their strength and courage in coming forward.

U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg for the Northern District of Georgia said Schlueter “betrayed the uniform of the U.S. Army and inflicted unimaginable harm on defenseless children.” Hertzberg said the sentence demonstrates that authorities remain prepared to pursue justice for victims “even years later and on the other side of an ocean.”

Special Agent in Charge Marlo Graham of the FBI Atlanta Field Office said Schlueter’s abuse caused lasting trauma to children who should have been protected. Graham said the FBI would continue pursuing people who prey on children “no matter how much time has passed” and expressed hope that the sentence would bring the victims a measure of justice.

The FBI Atlanta Field Office investigated the case. Trial Attorney McKenzie Hightower of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Leanne Marek for the Northern District of Georgia prosecuted the case, with assistance from CEOS Trial Attorney Kaylynn Foulon and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew LaGrone.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide Justice Department initiative launched in May 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, the initiative marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute offenders and identify and rescue victims.