Sinclair accepts plea bargain, says he ‘failed’ officer he had affair with

An Army brigadier general, Jeffrey Sinclair, who admitted to improper relationships with three subordinates told a judge at a sentencing hearing Monday that he had failed the female captain who leveled the most serious accusations against him. Hours later, she took the stand and testified about her fears that her superiors will always take advantage of her in the aftermath of her three-year affair with Sinclair.

His voice caught as he read from a statement explaining why he was pleading guilty to mistreating her. "I failed her as a leader and as a mentor and caused harm to her emotional state," he said.

It was the first public show of regret or sadness from Sinclair, a 27-year veteran who had betrayed little emotion in court hearings over the past year.

The judge accepted Sinclair's guilty pleas on several lesser charges in a deal that includes the dropping of sexual assault counts and two others that may have required him to register as a sex offender.

The sentencing hearing for Sinclair, the former deputy commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, began Monday afternoon and was expected to last until at least the next day. Six witnesses will be called for the prosecution and as many as 20 witnesses for the defense.

Ultimately, the judge will give Sinclair a sentence that may not exceed terms in the agreement that was struck between defense lawyers and military attorneys over the weekend but has not been made public. The deal is likely to require a punishment less severe than the maximum penalties of 25 1/2 years in prison and dismissal from the Army.

Sinclair's lawyer suggested he might walk out of court a free man but without a career and perhaps with hundreds of thousands of dollars less in pension benefits.

"I hope he is permitted to retire at a reduced rank and can go home to his family," defense attorney Richard Scheff told The Associated Press before court started Monday.

Sinclair, 51, had been accused of twice forcing the female captain under his command to perform oral sex during their affair. The married general pleaded guilty earlier this month to having improper relationships with three subordinate officers, including the captain. He also pleaded guilty to adultery, which is a crime in the military.

Al Jazeera is not identifying the officer to out of respect for her privacy.

The most serious accusations went to trial, but the court-martial was halted after the military judge found evidence that there may have been improper influence in a decision to reject a previous plea deal. The new deal was then struck, including Sinclair's admission that his treatment of the captain was "unwarranted, unjustified and unnecessary"; broke military law; and mentally harmed her.

Sinclair also admitted on Monday to abusing a government credit card he used while traveling to visit his mistress, using indecent language to demean female officers and attempting to contact the accuser after being told not to.

After Sinclair's plea, prosecutors opened the sentencing by calling the accuser back to the stand. She remains on active duty and was granted an immunity deal with prosecutors in exchange for testimony.

She said her career has suffered because she constantly worries her supervisors are talking about her behind her back and trying to undermine her.

"I'm very guarded now. I have a hard time trusting people. I have a very hard time feeling safe," said the woman, who cried during testimony and occasionally dabbed her eyes with a tissue between questions.

She told Sinclair's attorney, who had asked during cross-examination whether she voluntarily had a relationship with Sinclair for three years, that she "would have left a long time ago if it was up to me."

The female officer's mother testified that since making the accusations, her daughter bought a 95-pound dog for protection and sleeps on her couch in her four-bedroom home with a loaded gun nearby because she is scared.

In court on Monday, Sinclair denied ever putting his hands on the captain in anger. He said that about a year into the affair, he began to realize that the captain wanted a complete relationship, while he was not going to leave his wife. He said the captain was "emotionally invested in a way I was not."

He lied and said he planned to divorce his wife to keep the captain hoping for something more. And he started flirting with other women in hopes that the captain would leave quietly, he said.

Sinclair said his actions were "not based on my honest feelings for her but were based on my fear of exposure."

Capt. Cassie L. Fowler, the military lawyer assigned to represent the accuser's interests, declined to talk about the case outside court Monday. She referred questions to another lawyer, retired Navy Rear Admiral Jamie Barnett, who advised the woman.

A statement issued by Barnett said that the woman stands by her assault accusation. He said that Sinclair "literally sabotaged her career by altering her orders to keep her under his command and refusing her many requests to be transferred. She was literally trapped and bullied by one of the highest ranking officers in the United States Army."

Al Jazeera and The Associated Press