An Army aviator who concealed his identity behind a fake dating app profile to get dates was sentenced to 31 years in prison after a military jury convicted him of raping two women, according to authorities who are now seeking additional possible victims.
Warrant Officer Dawson Van Manen, 27, was convicted April 29 on charges including rape and abusive sexual contact involving two women, according to the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel. He was formerly assigned to the 1st Aviation Brigade at Fort Rucker, Alabama.
Prosecutors said Van Manen in August 2024 used the alias “2nd Lt. David Johnson” on the dating app Bumble before meeting one of the women at a hotel where Army prosecutors said he raped her.
After the assault, the woman underwent a rape kit at a local hospital. The nurse later testified that the victim’s swelling and injuries were the worst she had seen professionally.
The perpetrator’s estranged wife came forward shortly after the first victim’s report and told the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division that Van Manen had abused her for years. In December 2023, he violently raped her, she said, after she rejected his request for sex.
After the rebuff, Van Manen told his wife he wanted to cut her up and have sex with her corpse before he tied her up and covered her mouth with duct tape.
He then videotaped himself raping her.
Van Manen was apprehended by military law enforcement on Aug. 29, 2024. In 2025, he left Fort Rucker to meet with a woman who was not his spouse, disobeying his commander’s orders to remain on post at Fort Rucker while under investigation. Van Manen was also caught possessing and using anabolic steroids, a charge on which he was later convicted.
He will serve his sentence in the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and upon release, will be required to register as a sex offender.
Maj. Morghan Beaudoin, a prosecutor for the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel, praised the victims for their bravery in coming forward.
“As a prosecutor, I am continually inspired by the bravery of every victim who comes forward to identify their abusers, especially these two women who exemplified remarkable fortitude throughout this process,” Beaudoin said.
Investigators are looking for other women Van Manen may have met and assaulted under his alias. Army authorities ask that anyone with additional information can reach out using the criminal investigation tipline.
Eve Sampson is a reporter and former Army officer. She has covered conflict across the world, writing for The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Associated Press.
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