Gee, faster than I can post them: US Army General admits to lesser counts in sex crimes trial

Fort Bragg: A US Army General pleaded guilty on Thursday to military crimes of having an adulterous affair, asking junior female officers for nude photos and possessing pornography on his laptop while deployed in Afghanistan.

Brigadier General Jeffrey Sinclair, the defendant in a rare court-martial against a top US military officer, stood firm in his resolve to fight charges that he sexually assaulted a female captain during their three-year relationship.

Sinclair, 51, a married father of two, said the affair with the woman 17 years his junior was consensual throughout, but he agreed it was inappropriate by military standards.

"I was a senior leader; she was a subordinate leader," he told the court in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where he remains on active duty.

Sinclair was stripped of command in southern Afghanistan in May 2012 as a result of the criminal allegations.

He also pleaded guilty to trying to impede military justice after learning he was being investigated, deleting an email account that contained nude photographs of a civilian woman whom he described as a childhood friend.

For his admissions to wrongdoing, the decorated officer faces up to 15 years in prison, dismissal from the Army and forfeiture of pay and allowances.

"He accepted responsibility for his conduct," lead defense attorney Richard Scheff told reporters. "He's been waiting for this day."

Lawyers will lay out their cases on the remaining charges in opening statements scheduled for Friday. A jury of five two-star generals will decide Sinclair's case.

The stakes remain high. Sinclair could be sent to prison for life if convicted of the most serious charge, forcible sodomy.

The US government alleges he twice forced the unmarried captain to perform oral sex, and on other occasions grabbed her groin and genitalia against her will.

Sinclair is accused of indecent conduct by having sex with the captain in public places, including a car in Germany, a hotel balcony in Arizona and an office with the door open in Afghanistan, the government said.

Prosecutors say he used his superior rank to prevent the woman from ending their sexual relationship and threatened to kill her or her family if she exposed the affair.

http://zeenews.india.com/news/world/us-army-general-admits-to-lesser-counts-in-sex-crimes-trial_916348.html

Gee, faster than I can post them: US Army General admits to lesser counts in sex crimes trial

Gee, faster than I can post them: US Army General admits to lesser counts in sex crimes trial

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