Army general portrayed in bawdy skit

FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- Suspicions of an Army general's extramarital affair with a subordinate had circulated widely enough that soldiers portrayed the two in a sexually suggestive skit at a 2010 party, according to witness testimony Tuesday.

Lt. Col. Benjamin Bigelow testified at a sentencing hearing that the skit was performed during a party at which Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair was being honored in Germany.

It involved a soldier dressed up as Sinclair and a soldier dressed as a woman in a brown wig to represent the captain who was his primary accuser, Bigelow testified.

Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair has admitted to a three-year affair with the woman and inappropriate relationships with two other subordinates. The captain also had accused him of sexual assault, but those charges were dropped in a plea deal.

During the skit, the character in the wig "moved in front of the Sinclair character's crotch and offered to do something for him," Bigelow said. "There was absolutely no question."

Bigelow said Sinclair's wife attended the party and was "clearly shocked, angered and dismayed."

He said the accuser was not at the party.

Sinclair has pleaded to several lesser violations of military law in the plea deal that was accepted by a military judge Monday. Prosecutors finished their part of the sentencing hearing before lunch Tuesday.

Seeking a lenient sentence, his lawyers will aim to downplay the seriousness of the charges to which he pleaded guilty and call witnesses to discuss the character of the former deputy commander of the 82nd Airborne.

The captain who's his primary accuser took the stand Monday and said she can't trust anyone and fears her superiors will take advantage of her. The Associated Press generally does not identify those who say they were victims of sexual assault.

Sinclair, 51, had been accused of twice forcing the female captain under his command to perform oral sex during the three-year extramarital affair.

A lawyer who advised the accuser issued a statement Monday saying she stood by the assault accusation.

The married general pleaded guilty earlier this month to having improper relationships with three subordinate officers, including the captain. He also pleaded guilty to adultery, which is a crime in the military.

The most serious accusations went to trial, but the court-martial was halted after the military judge found evidence there may have been improper influence in a decision to reject a previous plea deal.

The new deal was struck, including Sinclair's admission his treatment of the captain was "unwarranted, unjustified and unnecessary," broke military law and mentally harmed her.

Sinclair also admitted Monday to abusing a government credit card he used while traveling to visit his mistress, using indecent language to demean female officers and contacting the accuser after being told not to.

The judge will give Sinclair a sentence that can't exceed terms in the agreement struck between defense lawyers and military attorneys over the weekend, but has not been made public.

The legal agreement is likely to require a punishment far less severe than the maximum penalties of 211/2 years in prison and dismissal from the Army.

The Army's case against Sinclair started to crumble as questions arose about whether his primary accuser had lied in a pre-trial hearing. It was further thrown into jeopardy last week when Judge Col. James Pohl said the military may have improperly pressed ahead with the trial to send a message about its determination to curb rape and other widespread misconduct. Under the military code of justice, the decision was supposed to be decided solely on the evidence, not its broader political implications.

A different commander accepted the plea deal over the weekend.

At Monday's hearing, prosecutors also called Lt. Nargis Kabiri to testify that she rebuffed advances from Sinclair, who invited her to go horseback riding after she sought him out as a mentor.

Sinclair pleaded guilty to conduct unbecoming of an officer for the advances on Kabiri, who was not one of the three subordinates with whom he admitted an inappropriate relationship.

She said the publicity of being connected to the Sinclair case has hurt her as she tries to move through the ranks in the male-dominated area of field artillery.

Male commanders will refuse to talk to her alone in their offices.

"I have had male leaders who approach me with caution, and I approach them with caution," she said

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Follow Jeffrey Collins on Twitter at http://twitter.com/JSCollinsAP.