Authorities allege Maj. William Weiland forced girl into apartment, blindfolded her
A United States Army officer who is a student at the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth was arrested last weekend in Platte City after authorities allege he forced a minor into his apartment and blindfolded her.
On March 30, the Platte County Prosecutor’s Office charged William F. Weiland, 40, of Platte City with the Class C felony of endangering the welfare of a child in the first degree. Weiland was arrested and is currently being held in the Platte County Jail on a $50,000 cash-only bond. He is scheduled to appear in court April 8. A spokesperson at the Fort Leavenworth Public Affairs Office confirmed that Weiland holds the rank of major in the United States Army and is a student at the Command College at the Fort. The Army spokesperson declined to comment any further, saying that “the matter is still under investigation and Army investigators are in support of Platte County investigators.” According to a probable cause statement filed by the Platte City Police Department, on the afternoon of March 29, the minor, who was being babysat by a resident at the Williamsburg Plaza Apartments, went to Weiland’s residence to borrow two eggs. Weiland asked what the eggs were for and the minor told him she and her babysitter were making cupcakes. Weiland asked the minor to bring him a cupcake when they were finished. During a PCPD interview, the minor said when she returned to Weiland’s residence later to give him a cupcake, Weiland grabbed her and pushed her onto a recliner causing her to hit her head on a coffee table. Weiland then locked the door and placed a blindfold over the girl’s eyes. Weiland then tried to force the girl to eat ice cream, but she refused. The girl said she heard Weiland doing something in another room, so she got up, unlocked the door and ran back to her babysitter’s apartment. She later told officers she saw a black-topped bottle with tan liquid in it sitting on the coffee table in Weiland’s apartment and she said the blindfold was gray in color. After responding to the complaint, PCPD officers conducted a search warrant of Weiland’s residence and found a black-topped bottle of rum and a grey blindfold. When Weiland was questioned by officers, he said the girl came into his apartment of her own free will and after they talked for a while she left. He denied grabbing the girl and pushing her into a chair.