An Army Brigadier General is accused of having inappropriate relationships with four women, using his rank to coerce them.
Military Times reports Brigadier General Jeffery A. Sinclair appeared in court for an Article 32 heating in Ft. Bragg, North Carolina on Monday.
He was in charge of logistics and support for the 82nd Airborne Divisions troops in Afghanistan from July 2010 until he was sent home in May because of the allegations.
The possible charges being brought against him could include forcible sodomy, wrongful sexual conduct, violating orders, engaging in inappropriate relationships, misusing a government travel card, and possessing pornography and alcohol while deployed.
NBC News reports prosecutors say the alleged sexual conduct happened in Afghanistan, Iraq, Germany, and bases in the United States. It is reported during the testimony Sinclair rolled his eyes, sighed loudly, and stared at his former aide from the defense table.
The captain who testified against him said she believed his threats and that she figured he really did know how to kill people with his bare hands because of his training with Special Forces.
According to Major General James Huggins, the captain came to his office one night in tears and told him she had been involved in a three-year sexual affair with Sinclair, her then-direct commander, and a married man. She said Sinclair had forced her to perform oral sex on him. She said she willingly had sex with her boss. When she tried to end the affair she said Sinclair threatened her and pushed her for sex. She told Huggins she finally reported Sinclair after finding emails he had exchanged with other women.
She said Sinclair was cold and would call women degrading names.
“He said, ‘He was a general and he could say whatever the (expletive) he wanted,” she said.
She also stated, “I was extremely intimidated by him. Everybody in the brigade spoke about him like he was a god.”
