McKinney Court-Martial Set for February

The sexual misconduct court-martial of America’s former top enlisted soldier was set to begin Feb. 3 after rulings Saturday by a military judge.

Military judge Col. Ferdinand Clervi denied most motions filed on behalf of Gene McKinney, the former sergeant major of the Army, who is facing 20 counts of sexual misconduct.

But Clervi granted a defense request to delay the court-martial, which had been set for Jan. 6, after McKinney’s attorneys said they needed more time to prepare.

Six military women have accused McKinney of various offenses, ranging from sexual harassment to sexual assault and adultery. If convicted of all charges, he could be sentenced to up to 56 years in prison. He has denied all accusations.

In four days of pretrial hearings this week at Ft. Belvoir, Va., south of Washington, McKinney’s lawyers moved to have all charges dismissed, or failing that, to reopen an investigatory proceeding that led to the court-martial order.

McKinney’s civilian attorney, Charles Gittins, maintained that military investigators used his client as a scapegoat as the Army responded to a rising criticism over sexual exploitation of military women.

Gittins also argued McKinney was prosecuted because he is an enlisted soldier, whereas officers accused of similar offenses usually are allowed to retire quietly. He termed this “selective prosecution.”

Clervi said he had heard insufficient evidence to support Gittins’ arguments.

Later, the defense argued that the case against McKinney should be broken into six separate trials because the charges involve six accusers. After Army prosecutors opposed this, Clervi ruled there would be just one trial.