David Frodsham, a top civilian commander with the U.S. Army, led a child-porn ring that involved abuse of his own adopted sons, leading to concerns of compromised national security.
Also involved in the ring was an Army sergeant who was posting child pornography to the internet.
Frodsham formerly was a civilian commander at an airbase in Afghanistan when he “jokingly” asked an IT technician for access to the pornographic website YouPorn.
Around that time, he told one woman that he hired her because he “wanted to be surrounded by pretty women,” and routinely called others “honey,” “babe,” and “cougar” before he was ordered home after the military verified multiple allegations of sexual harassment.
“I would not recommend placing him back into a position of authority but rather pursuing disciplinary actions at his home station,” wrote a commanding officer in recommending that the Army order Frodsham to leave Bagram Airfield and go back to Fort Huachuca, a major Army installation in Arizona.
When Frodsham was back in his home station in fall 2015, he rejoined the Network Enterprise Technology Command, the Army’s information-technology service provider, where he had served as director of personnel for a global command of 15,000 soldiers and civilians.
By spring of the following year, Frodsham was arrested for child sex abuse. He is currently serving a 17-year sentence after having pleaded guilty in 2016.
Records indicate that the U.S. Army and the state of Arizona neglected multiple red flags for more than a decade, allowing Frodsham to abuse minors while placing national security on the line.
For one, the state allowed Frodsham and his wife to adopt and retain custody of many children despite nearly 20 complaints (and attempted complaints) of abuse, neglect, maltreatment, and licensing violations. All the while, the Army provided Frodsham with security clearances and sensitive jobs, opening the possibility that he could be blackmailed into surrendering important national security information.
“He would have been an obvious target of foreign intelligence services because of his role and his location,” said Frank Figliuzzi, the former assistant director of counterintelligence for the FBI. “Fort Huachuca is one of the more sensitive installations in the continental United States. People with security issues should not be there.”
In addition to NETCOM, where Frodsham worked, Fort Huachuca is home to a contingent of the Army’s Intelligence and Security Command, according to its website.
Fort Huachuca’s public-relations officials confirmed that Frodsham was a NETCOM program manager before being arrested on child sex-abuse charges. They did not say whether he was disciplined upon returning from Afghanistan or whether he was ever considered a security risk by the Army.
Frodsham, former Sergeant Randall Bischak, and a third man not associated with the Army are currently all serving prison terms for their role in the child sexual-abuse ring. The investigation is ongoing as Sierra Vista police believe other men took part.
The investigation has spilled over into civil court. Two of Frodsham’s adopted sons have filed lawsuits against the state for licensing David and Barbara Frodsham as foster parents in a home where they say they were physically and sexually abused throughout their lives. A third adopted son filed a lawsuit on Tuesday.
According to the latest complaint, 19-year-old Trevor Frodsham accuses case workers of overlooking many signs that the Frodshams were unfit to be parents. These signs included a 2002 sex-abuse complaint filed with local police by one of the Frodshams’ biological daughters against an older biological brother, along with the fact that both David and Barbara were themselves victims of sexual abuse.
In his lawsuit, Ryan Frodsham maintains that Barbara never sexually abused him but walked into the room where David was abusing him at least twice.
“She knew what was going on,” he said.
AP notes:
Barbara Frodsham, who divorced David following his guilty plea, did not return multiple telephone calls from the AP, and did not respond to detailed questions left on her voice mail. At the time of her husband’s sentencing, she was working at Fort Huachuca as a personnel specialist, according to law enforcement records. A spokeswoman at Fort Huachuca said she still holds the position.
Attorneys for the state and the other defendants are seeking to have the cases dismissed, based in part on state law that grants immunity to state employees for mistakes or misjudgments committed in the course of their work. The law does not provide immunity for “gross negligence,” which the Frodsham brothers and Neal Taylor are alleging.
The state also argues that the complaints related to the Frodsham children and the Frodsham home were handled properly.
