U.S. Army Gen. Jerry Sinclair is expected to plead guilty to three charges at Thursday’s court hearing — but not to sexual assault.
The general is due for a court martial hearing at Fort Bragg over allegations he forced a female captain he was having an affair with to perform oral sex on him when she tried to sever their relationship, CBS reported.
The accuser also claims Gen. Sinclair threatened to kill her family if she revealed their affair, which spanned three years, including time spent in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Gen. Sinclair is expected to plead guilty to an improper relationship with a couple of other female Army officers, and to adultery — a crime in the military that could bring dishonorable discharge.
He’s also expected to admit to possessing pornography while in Afghanistan and to conduct unbecoming, CBS reported.
But he maintains his innocence on sexual assault — a charge that could lead to life behind bars.
His attorney, Richard Scheff, said the government is now in a tough position, given the woman accuser has made conflicting statements in the past about her sexual assault claims.
“The government now has a big problem,” Mr. Scheff said, to CBS. “It took pathetically weak assault charges and put a fancy wrapper around them. We just tore the wrapper off. The prosecution team no longer gets to distract us with salacious details about acts that aren’t event criminal in the civilian world.”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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