Attorney: McKinney 'pleased' and 'disappointed' at verdict

In this story:

• 'We can live with that'
• Accusers blink back tears
• First African-American sergeant major

March 13, 1998
Web posted at: 9:36 p.m. EST (0236 GMT)

FORT BELVOIR, Virginia (CNN) -- With his wife gasping and sobbing behind him, a stiff and impassive Sgt. Maj. Gene McKinney stood silently while a military jury announced that the Army's former top-ranked enlisted soldier was not guilty on 17 charges of sexual misconduct and one count of obstructing justice.

The jury did, however, find McKinney guilty on another charge of obstructing justice, a finding that is punishable by up to five years in prison and a dishonorable discharge.

McKinney verdict

"We are somewhat disappointed in the finding of guilty," said McKinney's attorney, Charles Gittens, afterward. "However, the members did their job and...we can live with that."

Asked to characterize the verdict, Gittens said: "I would characterize it as a verdict. We accept the verdict, but we would have liked 'not guilty' across the board."

Gittens said McKinney was "pleased" at being found not guilty of the 18 other charges and "disappointed in the one finding."

Gittens	What message does this verdict send to men and women of the U.S. Army?
306 K / 29 sec. AIFF or WAV sound

Gittens said the count on which McKinney was found guilty related to a recording of a phone call in which McKinney was heard telling a woman she did not have to tell investigators anything.

"That was an effort by the government to trap him," Gittens said, "and they were successful."

The jury, which deliberated for more than 20 hours, will return Monday to take up the sentencing phase of the trial.

Gittens said he would decide after that whether there will be an appeal. Had McKinney been convicted on all counts, he faced up to 55 1/2 years in prison.

The Army refused Friday to make any comment on the verdict.

Accusers blink back tears

McKinney's wife, Wilhemina, gasped and sobbed during the reading of the jury's decisions.

Behind her sat five of McKinney's six accusers, and several blinked back tears as the verdicts were read. Sgt. Maj. Brenda Hoster, his initial accuser, shook her head in disbelief

The 47-year-old McKinney was court-martialed after the women accused him of pressuring them for sex. He faced 19 charges, including indecent assault; making threats; adultery, which is a crime in the military; and obstruction of justice.

Hoster, a retired sergeant major who formerly worked as McKinney's press aide, was the first to come forward. She was followed by five other military women who told their stories at a military hearing last summer and again, in vivid detail at the court-martial.

Hoster

McKinney heatedly denied any wrongdoing and suggested that at least two of his accusers were out for revenge -- one for being fired and the other because he rejected her advances. He also contended before the trial that he was being singled out because of his race. He is black; his accusers are white.

McKinney told jurors that as a minority, he had a special compassion for women striving to make it in the military, and denied ever harassing anyone.

"I committed none of those offenses," he said.

First African-American sergeant major

McKinney rose through the ranks over three decades to become sergeant major of the Army, the person who advises the Army brass on issues affecting the 400,000 enlisted soldiers who constitute the bulk of the service. He was the first African-American to hold that job.

But things began to unravel when he was named to a panel investigating sexual harassment in the military, created in the wake of a scandal among drill sergeants at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland who sexually mistreated young female recruits.

Angered by McKinney's appointment, Hoster went public with accusations that McKinney had repeatedly sexually harassed her. The other women followed, accusing McKinney of pressuring them for sex and, in some cases, assaulting or threatening them.

After a nine-week preliminary hearing last year, the Army decided that McKinney would face court-martial on 20 charges. One of those was subsequently dropped.

He was replaced as sergeant major of the Army, and was reassigned to the lower post of command sergeant major when his court-martial was ordered.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Related stories:

• McKinney not guilty on 18 of 19 counts in sexual misconduct trial - March 13, 1998
• Closing arguments in McKinney case set for Tuesday - March 9, 1998
• Doubt cast on McKinney's alibi - March 6, 1998
• McKinney's attorney wants Army prosecution investigated - March 5, 1998
• McKinney combative under cross-examination - March 4, 1998
• McKinney denies all charges in Army sex case - March 3, 1998
• McKinney accuser asked to re-enact assault - February 18, 1998

Related sites:

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• U.S. Army
• Army Policy on EO and Sexual Harrassment
• Department of Defense: Sexual Harassment

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