Sue Hartigan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: WASHINGTON, March 16 (UPI) _ A military jury has demoted former Sgt. Major of the Army Gene McKinney two pay grades and ordered that an official letter of reprimand be included in his file. A court convicted McKinney on one charge of obstructing justice after a five-week-long court martial on 18 charges of sexual harassment. McKinney, who could have faced five years in jail for the obstruction of justice conviction, has also filed a $500,000 civil suit against his chief accuser, retired Sgt. Major Brenda Hoster. McKinney filed the suit in Washington, D.C., Superior Court, and is also seeking $1 million in punitive damages. A jury acquitted McKinney Friday of 18 charges of sexually harassing women while serving as the Army's top-ranking enlisted man. But the jury convicted him of obstructing justice for trying to alter the testimony of one of the six women who accused him of harassment. That woman, a staff sergeant, called McKinney and secretly taped the conversation at the request of Army prosecutors. McKinney did not respond to the jury's decision to demote him, but his lawyer Charles Gittins denounced what he called prosecutorial misconduct for allegedly entrapping his client into making the taped statements. ``What you have is a prosecutor's office that ran amok,'' Gittins said. ``That doesn't say much for the Army.'' McKinney has the right to appeal his conviction and sentence. Gittins said today he will file papers with higher authorities in an effort to overturn the jury's decision to demote McKinney. Today's decision by the jury of four senior enlisted men and four officers, including two women, drew a quick reaction from Gen. Dennis J. Reimer, the Army Chief of Staff. ``This closes a very difficult chapter in Army history, one which drew attention from all the great things the Army does,'' Reimer said. ``However, I am convined we did the right thing and our Army will be a much better institution for having focused on treating soldiers with dignity and respect.'' Subscribe/Unsubscribe, email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the body of the message enter: subscribe/unsubscribe law-issues
