RALEIGH, NC — A court-martial for a US Army general facing sexual-assault charges has been postponed for a third time.
The trial for Brig. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sinclair — scheduled to begin at Fort Bragg, NC, on Jan. 7 — has been delayed to March 3, the Army said in a press release on Thursday.
The release said the delay enables prosecutors and defense lawyers to complete further pre-trial discovery.
Sinclair, 51, is believed to be the highest-ranking officer to face a sexual-assault charge in the Army’s 238-year history. It’s also rare for a general to face court-martial over any type of criminal charge. There have been only two cases in recent years.
A decorated 27-year Army veteran, Sinclair has pleaded not guilty to eight counts, including forcible sodomy.
Most of the charges stem from a three-year affair with a female captain who says the married father of two twice forced her to perform oral sex while she served under his command in Iraq and Afghanistan. The woman testified that she repeatedly tried to break off the affair with Sinclair. She says he threatened to kill her and her family if she told anyone about their frequent sexual liaisons in hotels, headquarters and war zones.
Sinclair’s defense attorneys portray his primary accuser as a scorned lover seeking revenge.