FORT BRAGG, N.C. — An Army brigadier general who served five combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan has been charged with forcible sodomy, multiple counts of adultery, and having inappropriate relationships with several female subordinates, two US defense officials said Wednesday.
The defense officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to provide details on the case.
Brigadier General Jeffrey A. Sinclair faces possible courts martial on charges that include forced sex, wrongful sexual conduct, violating an order, possessing pornography and alcohol while deployed, misusing a government travel charge card, and filing fraudulent claims.
Sinclair, who served as deputy commander in charge of logistics and support for the 82d Airborne Division in Afghanistan, was sent home in May because of the allegations, the officials said. Since returning, Sinclair has been assigned as a special assistant to the commanding general of 18th Airborne Corps.
The charges were announced at a brief press conference Wednesday at Fort Bragg, the sprawling US Army base in North Carolina that is home to the 82d Airborne. After reading a prepared statement, a base spokesman, Colonel Kevin Arata, refused to take questions. Reporters were told all questions would have to be made in writing and that no response was likely to come until the following day.
Sinclair was informed of the charges on Monday but has not been placed under arrest. The next step will be an Article 32 investigation, including a preliminary hearing to determine if the matter should go to trial. No date has been set for the hearing, which Arata said would be open to the public. It was not clear if Sinclair had an attorney, and a phone listing for him was disconnected.
Sinclair had arrived in Afghanistan for his deployment in September 2011, but had been serving as the division’s deputy commander since July 2010. Sinclair, a trained paratrooper who has been in the Army for 27 years, was serving his third deployment to Afghanistan. He had also served two tours in Iraq, as well as a tour in the first Gulf War.
It is rare for an Army general to face court martial. There have been only two cases in recent years.
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Related: Hearing set for US general charged with sex crimes
"General accused of sexual offenses; Rare case against officer is described" by Michael Biesecker | Associated Press, November 06, 2012
FORT BRAGG, N.C. — Army prosecutors offered the first details of a rare criminal case against a general, alleging in a military hearing Monday that he committed sex-related crimes involving four female officers and a civilian....
Prosecutors alleged the general’s illegal acts took place between 2007 and 2012 in places including Iraq, Afghanistan, and Germany, as well as Fort Bragg and Fort Hood in Texas.
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"Female officers sent nude photos to general" Associated Press, November 08, 2012
FORT BRAGG, N.C. — Two female Army officers testified Wednesday they provided nude photos to a general now facing sex crime charges.
A married captain testified that Brigadier General Jeffrey Sinclair repeatedly asked her to send him nude photos of herself, which she said made her uncomfortable. Eventually, she said, she placated the married general by sending him downloaded pornographic photos of other women cropped so that their faces were not visible.
The testimony came during the third day of a hearing at Fort Bragg to determine whether Sinclair will go on trial for multiple criminal charges including forcible sodomy, wrongful sexual conduct, and adultery, which is a crime under the military justice system. The allegations involve relationships with five women other than his wife.
Sinclair served as a deputy commander of the 82d Airborne Division in Afghanistan until he was relieved of his duties in May amid a criminal investigation.
A female major also testified Wednesday that she sent photos of her breasts and a personal video to Sinclair.
Sinclair potentially faces penalties of up to life in prison if convicted at courts martial on the most serious charges.
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Also see: Captain testifies general threatened to kill her
"US Army general facing sex charges adding lawyers" by MICHAEL BIESECKER, Associated Press / February 21, 2013
FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — A U.S. Army general charged with sexual misconduct plans to add civilian lawyers to his legal team after expressing concern his military lawyers feared their careers would be harmed by defending him.
Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair appeared in court Thursday at Fort Bragg for a hearing on pre-trial motions. Sinclair faces court martial in June on charges that include forcible sodomy, indecent acts, violating orders and adultery. He has thus far deferred entering a plea.
Military judge Col. James Pohl asked Sinclair on Thursday about an e-mail the general sent to the head of the Army’s legal branch suggesting the three lawyers assigned to defend him feared retaliation. At a past hearing, the defense has suggested they may call top Pentagon officials as witnesses in the case, including Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Ordinario and Gen. Lloyd Austin, the incoming head of U.S. Central Command....
On Thursday, Pohl denied an earlier motion from the defense to disqualify prosecutors over privileged emails erroneously sent to them by criminal investigators. The messages included exchanges between Sinclair and his lawyers, his wife and a family friend who is an ordained minister.
Yeah, right, ooops.
Other pre-trial motions are due Friday. The Army has thus far rebuffed public records requests from The Associated Press for copies of all motions filed in the case....
The female captain at the heart of the case said she carried on a three-year sexual relationship with Sinclair, a married father of two. Adultery is a crime under military law, and the admission could end her career.
She testified at the evidentiary hearing that she repeatedly tried to break off the affair with Sinclair, who she says threatened to kill her and her family if she told anyone about their frequent sexual liaisons in hotels, headquarters and war zones.
The woman said she usually wanted to have sex with the general, though she said that on two occasions he exposed himself and physically forced her to perform oral sex, even as she sobbed.
The Associated Press does not publicly identify victims of alleged sexual assaults.
Two other female officers who served with Sinclair also testified that they had given the general nude photos at his request.
Sinclair is also accused of possessing alcohol in a war zone and disobeying orders. Maj. Gen. James Huggins, Sinclair’s superior officer in Afghanistan, testified he ordered Sinclair to cease contact with the female captain after she reported the affair. Sinclair is alleged to have willfully disobeyed that order by then calling the woman’s phone.
Sinclair has not yet spoken publicly about the charges against him. At the pretrial hearing, his defense lawyers conceded the affair with the female captain, while working to paint her as a liar trying to ruin the general’s life and military reputation. During the hearings, they characterized her as a manipulative ‘‘back-stabber’’ who blamed others for her mistakes.
The general’s wife, Rebecca Sinclair, has stayed away from court but went public with an opinion piece in The Washington Post. In that column, she said she was not condoning her husband’s infidelity, but she said that a decade of war had taken a toll on military couples and brought pressure on their marriages.
The wars have split up more than Muslim families!
In an interview with The Associated Press, Rebecca Sinclair said her husband called her last spring to tell her about the affair and allegations, and she said they were trying to mend their relationship.
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And now you girls get to serve on the front lines!
