Army pulls recruitment commercial titled 'Honor' after discovering one of the soldiers featured in it raped a 15-year-old girl

  • Nicholas Marcum featured in commercial that aired about 245 times this month 
  • Marcum was convicted of 'forcible rape of a child' and jailed for 20 years in 2016 
  • 28-year-old's photograph in the ad was taken on his Alaska military base in 2014 
  • The commercial has since been pulled and Marcum's image has been deleted 

By Liam Quinn For Dailymail.com

Published: 17:24 EST, 18 May 2017 | Updated: 17:26 EST, 18 May 2017

The army has been forced to pull a 15-second 'Honor' commercial after it was revealed one of the soldiers featured in it was a convicted rapist.

The recruitment commercial, which was one in a series that were played across the country earlier this month, showed former Specialist Nicholas Marcum. It aired for a week between May 8 and 15, and was played about 245 times.

Marcum, 28, was convicted in a general court martial for 'forcible rape of a child' and jailed for 20 years in September 2016. The Alaska Dispatch reports the victim was 15.

Army Alaska spokesman John Pennell told the newspaper at the time of the conviction the rape took place on May 14, 2014, in Fort Wainwright.

Scroll down for video 

The army has been forced to pull a 15-second 'Honor' commercial after it was revealed one of the soldiers featured in it was a convicted rapist

The army has been forced to pull a 15-second 'Honor' commercial after it was revealed one of the soldiers featured in it was a convicted rapist

It was also reported the soldier provided the victim with alcohol on the day of the rape, and he was a 'friend of the girl's family'. 

The attack took place at the girl's family home, according to military news website Task and Purpose.

He is currently being held at the US Disciplinary Barracks in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas - the military's only maximum security jail.

Business Insider reports the image of Marcum used in the commercial was taken in July 2014 during a promotional photo shoot at the Fort Wainwright base.

The recruitment commercial, which was one in a series that were played across the country earlier this month, showed former Specialist Nicholas Marcum. Marcum was based at the Fort Wainwright barracks (pictured) 

The recruitment commercial, which was one in a series that were played across the country earlier this month, showed former Specialist Nicholas Marcum. Marcum was based at the Fort Wainwright barracks (pictured) 

The military said the advertisement was pulled and Marcum's image has been deleted from further use

The military said the advertisement was pulled and Marcum's image has been deleted from further use

The commercial has since been pulled, and Marcum's image will never be used again. 

Major Avon Cornelius explained to Business Insider how the shocking blunder occurred.

'All soldiers, civilians, and family members are vetted prior to filming in any national or local advertising effort,' he said.

'However, participants are not usually vetted a second time if images are later used.'

He added: 'We have put in place measures to ensure secondary vetting of images in all future productions to minimize any similar circumstance occurring again.'

Comments 32

Share what you think

  View all

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

  View all

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.