A two-star Air Force general has been found not guilty of sexually assaulting a subordinate officer by a court-martial jury in Texas and will ultimately avoid jail time after pleading guilty to lesser charges.
A panel of eight officers found Maj. Gen. Phillip Stewart not guilty of sexual assault on Saturday, following nearly two weeks of court proceedings at Joint Base San Antonio. The former commander of the 19th Air Force was found guilty of other charges, including conduct unbecoming an officer and one specification of dereliction of duty; prior to the trial, he pleaded guilty to the other specification, as well as an adultery charge.
A military judge sentenced Stewart to a formal reprimand, restriction to Joint Base San Antonio for two months and forfeiture of $10,000 worth of pay every month for six months, the base said in a press release. It is possible that Stewart could also be reduced in rank under the Air Force secretary’s authority in the future due to the convictions and reprimand now on his record.
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“It’s hard to think about life outside the service,” Stewart told the judge during sentencing, according to the military newspaper Stars and Stripes. “I am so much more than this. I apologize for letting the Air Force down.”
The sentence was relatively light compared to the range of punishments he had faced….
