US Army general brought back from Afghanistan to face sex charges

Brigadier General Jeffrey Sinclair, who served five combat tours, will face trial following a spate of high-profile military sex scandals involving high-ranking officers.

He appeared at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on charges that include wrongful sexual conduct, indecent acts and adultery, and will enter his plea at a later date.

The hearing continued with a defence bid 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 with a family friend who is an ordained minister. The military judge, Army Colonel James Pohl, has set the trial portion of the court-martial for May 13.

He did not immediately rule on the defence attempt to disqualify the prosecuting lawyers, all four of whom testified under oath they had not reviewed the emails.

A 27-year Army veteran, Sinclair faces life in prison if convicted of the most serious offences.

It is rare for an Army general to face court-martial and there have been only two cases in recent years. But more commanders have lost their posts over sex – of the 18 generals and admirals fired in recent years, 10 were sacked because of sex-related offences.

At a hearing in November, prosecutors presented evidence about Sinclair’s conduct with five women, including officers who served under his direct command.

The charges involve activities when he was in Afghanistan, Iraq, Germany and the US. The female captain at the heart of the case said she carried on a three-year sexual relationship with Sinclair.

Meanwhile, the top US commander in Afghanistan has been cleared of sending inappropriate emails to a woman linked to the sex scandal that forced
David Petraeus to quit as CIA director.

Defence officials said their inquiry found the concerns about the emails sent by General John Allen to be unsubstantiated.