ROFL?
Retired U.S. general to plead guilty in sex case
05:40 p.m Mar 16, 1999 Eastern
FORT LEWIS, Wash., March 16 (Reuters) - A retired U.S.
Army general has agreed to plead guilty to charges he had affairs
with the wives of subordinate officers in exchange for lenient
sentencing, his lawyer said on Tuesday.
Maj. Gen. David Hale, who faced a possible sentence of up to 11
years in prison and a loss of rank and retirement, made the
decision ''to bring this matter to a swift conclusion,'' said his
lawyer Frank Spinner.
Terms of the plea agreement will be announced on Wednesday in
a one-day court-martial hearing at Fort Lewis near Tacoma,
Spinner said.
Hale was referred for general court-martial, reserved for the
military's most serious offences, on seven counts of ''conduct
unbecoming an officer and a gentleman'' and one count of making
false official statements stemming from his sexual relationships with
the wives of four subordinate officers.
Spinner, in a brief statement to reporters, said Hale was guilty as
charged but ''is not pleading guilty to any non-consensual sexual
offence.''
Adultery is prosecuted as a crime under military law as a threat to
morale and discipline, but Hale's misconduct was seen as
particularly egregious because of his position of authority over his
subordinate officers and by extension their wives.
Hale is the first U.S. Army general to be court-martialed since
1952 and the only one to be brought out of retirement to face
charges.
Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited |
