Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair, who admitted to inappropriate relationships with three subordinates, arrives at the courthouse for sentencing at Fort Bragg, N.C., Thursday, March 20, 2014. Sinclair was reprimanded and docked $20,000 in pay Thursday, avoiding jail time in one of the U.S. military's most closely watched courts-martial.(AP Photo/Ellen Ozier) (The Associated Press)
FORT BRAGG, N.C. – A lawyer representing the female captain at the center of an Army general's sexual misconduct case calls his punishment a travesty and serious misstep for the Army.
Retired Rear Adm. Jamie Barnett said in a statement Thursday that the sentence was a "slap on the wrist" and shows that congressional action is needed to change the military's justice system.
Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair was sentenced to a reprimand and fined $20,000 after he pleaded guilty to adultery with one woman and having inappropriate relationships with two other women by asking them for nude pictures and exchanging sexually explicit email with them. Sexual assault charges were dropped in the plea deal.
Barnett says her client suffered severe sexual and mental abuse, but was brave to take the stand and face the general in court.
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