Army general sex case: Jeffrey Sinclair pleads guilty to lesser charges
- 9 years ago
Army Brigadier General Jeffrey Sinclair is avoiding sexual assault charges and pleading guilty to several other military crimes.
The 51-year-old Sinclair is one of the highest ranking military leaders accused of sexual assault. The prosecution's key witness is a 34-year-old captain in the Army and was Sinclair's mistress from 2009 until 2012. After the relationship turned sour, she went to Sinclair's superior, Major General Jim Huggins, and told him all the juicy details.
The captain says Sinclair forced her to give him oral sex on two occasions and threatened her and her family if she made the affair public. She told the court the gruesome details of the alleged assault.
"He grabbed me by the back of the neck, pushed me down," said the captain. "I tried to pull back, and he put his other hand on my shoulder.... It felt disgusting. It felt like I had no control over my body."
The affair started in Iraq in 2009 and continued to Afghanistan when the captain served as one of Sinclair's aides in 2011. Their sexual liaisons also took place in a parked car in Germany, and a balcony in Tucson, Arizona. She referred to him as Mr. Sexy Pants and he referred to her as Panda. Sinclair is married and has two children.
The defence claims the witness was jealous of other women that she believed Sinclair had been having relationships with. They also questioned the witnesses credibility, citing affectionate emails to Sinclair one day before the accusations were made public.
Sinclair has agreed to plead guilty to adultery, possession of pornography, asking for photographs of female army officers, and seeking a date with a lieutenant, all of which are considered crimes in the Army. In exchange for his guilty plea, the Army is dropping the sexual assault charges that could have put Sinclair in prison for up to 15 years as well as force him to register as a sexual offender.
The defense hopes the plea also includes Sinclair retiring from the military at the lowered rank of Li
The 51-year-old Sinclair is one of the highest ranking military leaders accused of sexual assault. The prosecution's key witness is a 34-year-old captain in the Army and was Sinclair's mistress from 2009 until 2012. After the relationship turned sour, she went to Sinclair's superior, Major General Jim Huggins, and told him all the juicy details.
The captain says Sinclair forced her to give him oral sex on two occasions and threatened her and her family if she made the affair public. She told the court the gruesome details of the alleged assault.
"He grabbed me by the back of the neck, pushed me down," said the captain. "I tried to pull back, and he put his other hand on my shoulder.... It felt disgusting. It felt like I had no control over my body."
The affair started in Iraq in 2009 and continued to Afghanistan when the captain served as one of Sinclair's aides in 2011. Their sexual liaisons also took place in a parked car in Germany, and a balcony in Tucson, Arizona. She referred to him as Mr. Sexy Pants and he referred to her as Panda. Sinclair is married and has two children.
The defence claims the witness was jealous of other women that she believed Sinclair had been having relationships with. They also questioned the witnesses credibility, citing affectionate emails to Sinclair one day before the accusations were made public.
Sinclair has agreed to plead guilty to adultery, possession of pornography, asking for photographs of female army officers, and seeking a date with a lieutenant, all of which are considered crimes in the Army. In exchange for his guilty plea, the Army is dropping the sexual assault charges that could have put Sinclair in prison for up to 15 years as well as force him to register as a sexual offender.
The defense hopes the plea also includes Sinclair retiring from the military at the lowered rank of Li