Ex-Navy chaplain to plead guilty to forcible sodomy
A former Navy chaplain plans to plead guilty to allegations that include forcible sodomy and failing to tell a sex partner he was HIV-positive, his lawyer said Wednesday.
Lt. Cmdr. John Thomas Matthew Lee was to enter the plea today at his court-martial at Marine Corps Base Quantico in northern Virginia, said his attorney, David Sheldon.
Lee, 42, plans to plead guilty to forcible sodomy, aggravated assault and other charges, Sheldon said. Military law defines failing to inform a partner of a person’s HIV status as aggravated assault, he said.
Prosecutors allege that Lee, knowing he had tested positive for the virus in 2005, had sex with an Air Force lieutenant colonel last December and exposed him to the virus without telling him about his HIV status.
In another instance, court documents indicate that Lee fraternized with a midshipman over a two-year period after the student came to him for counseling and advice in 2004.
Lee offered the underage midshipman alcohol, engaged in sex acts, asked him to take nude photographs of Lee and e-mailed him pornographic photos, the documents said.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
