The Army has decided to court-martial the sergeant major of the Army, Gene McKinney, on sexual misconduct charges resulting from accusations of harassment and assault by six servicewomen.
McKinney, a 29-year veteran, is expected to enter a plea at an arraignment within a few days. He has strongly denied the allegations against him and accused the Army of racial bias. McKinney is black; all six of his accusers are white."In the investigative phase, it's clear that the investigators went in with a preconceived racist notion," Charles Gittins, McKinney's civilian lawyer, said Thursday on ABC's "Good Morning America." But, he added, "In the prosecution itself, I don't think race plays much of a factor at all."
"Generally speaking, in every case, what the women say happened did not happen," Gittins said. Asked if that can be proven in court, he responded: "In some cases by objective evidence, in others it basically comes down to who do you believe."
No trial date was set.
The case against McKinney, which started with sexual misconduct accusations last February by a former aide, retired Sgt. Maj. Brenda Hoster, has been a source of great embarrassment for the Army. The service has struggled with a string of sexual harassment and abuse cases in recent months. This summer an independent panel concluded that sexual harassment was widespread in the Army and that its leaders were to blame for letting it persist.
The decision to take McKinney to trial was announced Wednesday by Maj. Gen. Robert F. Foley, commanding general of the Army Military District of Washington. The trial is to be held at Fort Belvoir, Va.
Foley referred 20 counts of misconduct to the court-martial. Two other counts - one of maltreatment of a subordinate, the other of assault by battery - were dismissed earlier by a reviewing officer who had recommended Foley order a court-martial.
If convicted on all counts, McKinney could face a maximum of 56 years in prison, the loss of all pay and benefits, dishonorable discharge from the Army and reduction to the lowest enlisted rank.