Army Captain face sexual assault charges after 2 former NC State students step forward
RALEIGH, NC (WTVD) — U.S. Army captain is facing multiple felony charges after prosecutors say he sexually assaulted two women in separate incidents while all three were students at NC State University in 2019.
Michael Kranzburg appeared in Wake County court Wednesday on charges that include forced sexual offenses, kidnapping and strangulation.
Investigators allege the incidents occurred on NC State’s campus during two separate encounters involving two different female students.
According to prosecutors, one of the women reported an alleged assault in December 2019.
However, the Wake County District Attorney’s Office did not pursue charges at that time, a decision one prosecutor says was incorrect.
“Someone in our office reviewed this case and I believe made the wrong decision in not charging at that time,” said Melanie Shekita in court Wednesday.
Wake County DA Lorrin Freeman acknowledged the challenges victims often face when deciding whether to report sexual assaults and participate in the criminal justice process.
“It’s particularly difficult for victims to make the decision and be willing to go through what is unquestionably a grueling process and can be traumatic in and of itself,” Freeman said.
The woman involved in the December 2019 case reported the alleged assault shortly after it happened, but prosecutors declined to move forward.
Authorities said another woman came forward in October 2026 regarding an alleged February 2019 incident. Freeman said that report allowed her office to revisit the earlier case and pursue charges against Kranzburg.
Prosecutors said both alleged incidents occurred on campus and told the court that one took place in a victim’s dorm room.
In court, Kranzburg’s attorney participated in ROTC while attending NC State and worked as a Ranger School instructor at Fort Benning in recent years.
His attorney also said Kranzburg had been selected to begin Special Forces training and was preparing to move to Fort Bragg before his arrest.
Kranzburg is being held without bond.
