Jeffrey Sinclair, US Army brigadier general, accused of sex crimes against five women

A hearing to decide whether Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair, one of the US Army’s top generals, should face a court-martial for alleged sex crimes against five women started today, the Associated Press reported.

According to the AP:

There have been only two other court-martial cases against Army generals in recent years.

Sinclair, a Fort Bragg-based general who served as deputy commander in charge of logistics and support for the 82nd Airborne Division in Afghanistan from July 2010 until May 2012, is accused of 26 violations of military law, Reuters reported.

Charges against the married general include forcible sodomy, wrongful sexual conduct, possessing pornography while deployed, charging $4,000 worth of personal travel on a military credit card and conduct unbecoming of an officer, according to Reuters.

Prosecutors claimed Sinclair forced the women, four of whom were his military subordinates, into improper sexual relations using his rank, Reuters reported. He threatened to kill one woman or her family if she revealed what had happened.

The general allegedly committed his crimes between 2007 and 2012 in Iraq, Afghanistan and Germany, Fort Bragg in North Carolina and Fort Hood in Texas, the AP reported.

Sinclair’s lawyers are attempting to get the case thrown out or have new prosecutors assigned to the case, the AP reported. They complained today that the prosecution read confidential emails between Sinclair, his wife and his lawyers discussing the case, against the terms of a subpoena.

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