Top Enlisted Soldier to Face Court-Martial in Sex Case

Sgt. Maj. of the Army Gene C. McKinney, the service’s top enlisted soldier, was ordered Wednesday to face a general court-martial on sexual-misconduct charges involving accusations by six women.

No trial date was set. The Army asked that McKinney be arraigned as soon as possible on 20 counts of misconduct.

McKinney has maintained that he is innocent. He remains suspended from his duties as sergeant major of the Army and is assigned to nearby Ft. Myer, Va., where he has been working on his legal defense.

The case, which started with sexual-misconduct accusations by a former aide, retired Sgt. Maj. Brenda Hoster, has been a source of enormous embarrassment for the Army, which has contended this year with a string of sexual-harassment and abuse cases.

After the initial allegations became public, McKinney asked the Army to allow him to retire.

Charles Gittins, McKinney’s civilian defense attorney, did not immediately return a phone call asking for comment.

Gittins had said earlier that if a court-martial were ordered he would file a motion detailing cases in which Army general officers accused of the same activity alleged against McKinney were not threatened with prosecution. He said the officers were allowed to retire with full benefits.

McKinney, who is black, has accused the Army of racial bias.

If convicted on all counts, McKinney would face a maximum of 56 years in prison, loss of all pay and allowances, dishonorable discharge and reduction to the lowest enlisted rank, Clark said.

The first of six women to accuse McKinney, Hoster testified that during a 1996 trip to Hawaii, he came to her hotel room, lifted her up and kissed her.

After Hoster told her story in public, the other accusers came forward.

Sgt. Christine Roy was the only one to allege that McKinney had sex with her. She said she reluctantly gave in on Oct. 30, 1996, when she was almost eight months pregnant.