Jury Clears McKinney of All but 1 of 19 Counts

WASHINGTON — In a stunning setback for prosecutors, a court-martial jury cleared the Army’s former top enlisted man Friday of all sexual-misconduct charges against him, convicting him only on a single count of urging one of his accusers to lie.

The military jury, concluding three days of deliberations, rejected the testimony of six female service members who claimed Sgt. Maj. Gene C. McKinney propositioned or fondled them or, in one case, committed adultery.

Each of the women had made similar accusations against McKinney, testifying about behavior that appeared to follow a pattern. Most testified that McKinney sought to win their trust through personal, often highly emotional conversations, then pressured them for sex, often grabbing them or touching them forcefully while he did.

But there was little evidence to corroborate any of the alleged incidents.

McKinney, standing at attention, showed no emotion as the verdicts to each of the 19 counts were read. His wife, Wilhemina, mouthed “yes, yes, yes” as each of the 18 not-guilty findings on sexual-misconduct charges was announced but sobbed “Oh, God,” at the guilty verdict on a charge of obstruction of justice.

McKinney could get a maximum five years in prison on the obstruction of justice conviction, a dishonorable discharge or reduction in rank. The penalty phase of the trial begins on Monday in the courtroom at Ft. Belvoir, Va. Had he been convicted of all 19 charges, he would have faced a maximum punishment of 55 years in prison.

Of the five accusers who were in court, several blinked back tears as the verdicts were read. Sgt. Maj. Brenda L. Hoster, the first to level accusations against McKinney, shook her head. None had comment afterward. Army officials said they have been advised not to speak out until after the penalty phase.

The vote of the eight-member jury, which included two women, was not disclosed and jurors refused to comment until after the penalty phase. In courts-martial, only six of eight jurors are needed to return a verdict.

McKinney’s lawyer, Charles W. Gittins, said he was pleased with the outcome even though it included a conviction for obstruction of justice for encouraging one of the accusers to lie.

Susan Barnes, an attorney who represented McKinney’s first accuser, expressed disappointment but not surprise at the verdict.

“These cases are hard to prove in a military culture where women are still treated as second-class citizens,” said Barnes, a former Colorado state judge. “They don’t have as much credibility as men.”

McKinney flatly denied all charges during two days on the witness stand. Gittins based his defense on McKinney’s distinguished 29-year service career and his reputation for character and integrity.

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During the five-week court-martial, the chief prosecutor, Lt. Col. Michael S. Child, acknowledged McKinney’s superb record, including service in the Vietnam War. But Child insisted that McKinney had “a fatal flaw--his uncontrolled lust for women” that led to his misconduct.

The obstruction charge resulted from a phone call he made to Staff Sgt. Christine M. Fetrow, who tape-recorded the conversation. The recording, played for the jury, showed McKinney trying to persuade Fetrow to tell Army investigators that they had “just talked about career development” in his Pentagon office, where Fetrow testified the sergeant major grabbed her, locked the door and propositioned her.

Gittins added he would wait until after Monday’s sentencing hearing to decide whether to appeal the obstruction of justice conviction.

He called that charge “an effort by the government to trap him, and they were successful.”

Gittins contended all the women who alleged sexual misconduct were lying, either out of revenge against a stern taskmaster like McKinney or because they had personal problems in their lives, including an inability to relate to men.

The first African American to hold the highest enlisted post, McKinney was removed from his position when accusations surfaced last year. He claimed the charges against him were tinged with racism, noting that all of his accusers are white.

The jury is composed of two male and two female officers and four enlisted men. Six jurors are white, one is black and one is Latina.

The public perception of the verdict is important to the military because if it is viewed as unjust, the Pentagon will suffer a blow to its efforts to demonstrate commitment to equality for women and to ending sexual harassment. Such a perception also could make victims of harassment more reluctant to report abuses.

Karen Johnson, vice president of the National Organization for Women, said she was “certainly surprised when you have six women coming forth with allegations of sexual misconduct and none were believed.”

Eugene R. Fidell, who followed the trial as president of the nonprofit National Institute of Military Justice, said jurors may have concluded that “the swearing contest” between McKinney and his accusers “did not lend itself to criminal prosecution.”

“Allegations of sexual harassment are typically resolved in the civil courts and are not subject to criminal prosecution,” Fidell said. “Somebody sues you, or it’s handled by an employer. You get fired.”

Although women’s groups may be upset by the verdict, he said, “you’ve got to remember there was no allegation of rape here. Adultery was alleged, which is a crime in the military. But in most states this is a misdemeanor, and jurors may have been aware of this.”

The Pentagon has been wrestling with the sexual-misconduct problem for more than a year. The debate began with cases at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, which led the military to set up a telephone hotline for complaints.

Several accusations against McKinney first came to light through this hotline, although the first, from Hoster, came by way of her letter to authorities. Hoster said she became incensed when McKinney was named to a high-level military panel to investigate complaints of harassment.

Before Aberdeen, however, sensitivity about sexual misconduct in the military had been raised by the much-publicized Tailhook affair in 1991, in which Navy and Marine pilots groped and fondled Navy women during a convention at a Las Vegas hotel.

The furor continued last year with the case of former Air Force bomber pilot Kelly Flinn, who--accused of adultery and disobeying orders--eventually accepted a general discharge rather than face court-martial.

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Last June, the scandal reached top ranks with the disclosure that Air Force Gen. Joseph W. Ralston, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, once had carried on an adulterous affair.

As part of an examination of how well the U.S. military is bringing women into the services, a Pentagon advisory panel has proposed that young recruits be separated by sex during basic military training. Defense Secretary William S. Cohen has not yet ruled on that recommendation.

An Army report made public last September said more than one in five female soldiers believe they have suffered harassment. In addition, more than half the women surveyed thought they were being held back in their military careers because of their gender.