DENVER -- A military judge on Friday halted the trial of an officer accused of raping a fellow Air Force Academy cadet.

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What Are Implications Of Military Judge's Ruling? Rape Counselor Willing To Go To Jail To Protect Cadet Client

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The judge said he halted the court-martial of 1st Lt. Joseph Harding because the female cadet's civilian rape therapist refused to hand over records of their counseling sessions. Harding's defense team had argued that he could not get a fair trial without those records and military judge Col. David Brash agreed, stopping the trial without comment.

"Obviously, we believe it was the correct ruling by a military judge," said Defense attorney David Sheldon.

Harding still faces a charge of indecent assault in another alleged attack on a different cadet in 1999. The indecent assault charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The rape charge carried a maximum life term.

Civilian therapist Jennifer Bier has argued repeatedly that her records are confidential, and turning them over would violate the privacy of her patient, Jessica Brakey. Bier said she will not turn over her patient's records, even under the threat of arrest.

Harding, a pilot trainee stationed at Columbus Air Force Base, Miss., was accused of raping Brakey in 2000 when both were cadets at the Air Force Academy. Instead of going to a counselor on the military base, Brakey went to a civilian counselor in Colorado Springs because she believed her counseling sessions would remain private.

The judge's decision has important implications for victims of sexual assault in the military, said 7NEWS Investigator John Ferrugia, who broke the story of the sexual assault scandal in 2003.

"The message is this: if you are an Air Force Academy cadet or someone in the military, if you're going to file a case, don't go to counseling help. If you go to counseling, you have to be careful of what you say because it can be used against you if you do file a case," Ferrugia said.

In the civilian world -- in Colorado and dozens of other states -- counseling records between a patient and therapist are legally confidential. But in the military, those records are not protected. There's now a question of whether Congress should change the law.

Wendy Murphy, the attorney representing Brakey, claimed that the defense lawyer never showed cause as to why Bier's notes were needed, why they were essential to the case, and yet the military judge didn't question it. Murphy claimed that this error should be appealed by the military prosecutor in the case but it won't be because the military has a vested interest in closing this case against Harding.

Brakey was the first Air Force Academy cadet who came forward and told 7NEWS about the treatment of female cadets who spoke up about alleged sexual assaults on campus.

The court-martial is taking place at Randolph Air Force Base in Texas.

Later Thursday afternoon, Bier will be honored by the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault for her work to end sexual violence.

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