An Air Force general will stand trial in a military court for allegedly sexually assaulting a subordinate officer, the service confirmed Tuesday.
The Air Force relieved Maj. Gen. Phillip Stewart, who served as commander of the 19th Air Force, of his command in May after accusations surfaced that he inappropriately touched a woman without her consent and other crimes while on a work trip to Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma, the service said in a release. Lt. Gen. Brian Robinson, the head of Air Education and Training Command, decided to proceed with formal charges despite a recommendation from a Oct. 24 preliminary hearing not to move forward with a court-martial, according to Stars and Stripes.
The two-star general is accused of touching an unnamed woman’s genitalia without her consent and trying to fly a military plane less than 12 hours after consuming alcohol while at Altus Air Force Base in mid-April, Air Force Times reported, citing the charge sheet. He also allegedly engaged in at least one extramarital affair between March and April. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: US Air Force Ran A Social Experiment To Graduate More Minority Pilots. It Didn’t Go As Planned)
Rarely has the Air Force prosecuted officers at such a high rank in a court-martial, according to Air Force Times.
He faces a minimum of dismissal or dishonorable discharge, but a military judge could pursue punishment up to 66 years in jail and force Stewart to forfeit pay, according to Air Force Times.
Stewart plans to plead not guilty to all of the charges, Keith Scherer, a defense lawyer previously representing the airman, told Air Force Times.
But on Wednesday, Scherer told the Daily Caller News Foundation he was no longer representing Stewart and referred the DCNF to KGBT Communications, a public relations firm based in San Antonio. KGBT did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
Scherer previously claimed the other officer involved in the affair with Stewart had consented and that the Air Force has not gathered enough evidence to convict Stewart of sexual assault, according to media reports. He also said he believes Robinson is trying to cover up for the female airman and that Col. Brian Thompson, who presided over the preliminary hearing, had preferred administrative punishment to a court-martial.
“It was his conclusion that this was not sexual assault,” Scherer told Stars and Stripes of Thompson’s findings. “The most charitable interpretation that I can come up with regarding this charging decision is that it is a misguided attempt to provide cover for a senior officer who is afraid to admit that she cheated on her husband.”
“This is a dereliction of the leadership’s responsibility to ensure the military justice process is fair, and isn’t weaponized as an excuse for defamation and secret agendas,” Scherer said, according to Air Force Times.
In all, Stewart faces two counts of dereliction of duty under Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, two counts of sexual assault under Article 120, one count of conduct unbecoming of an officer under Article 133 and one count of extramarital sexual conduct under Article 134, the outlet reported
Our 19th Air Force commander, Maj. Gen. Phillip Stewart, is doing an incredible job moderating an #ASC22 panel on Countering Russian Aggression. Our AETC units empower Airmen through training & education to out-think and out-perform our adversaries, ensuring we fly, fight & win. pic.twitter.com/BI9lORqyOs
— AETC – First Command (@AETCommand) September 19, 2022
Stewart’s arraignment has not yet been scheduled, Scherer told the outlets. However, neither the Air Force nor Scherer provided the report recommending against a court-martial to Stars and Stripes, while Air Education and Training Command declined to comment in detail about the initial proceedings.
The Air Force did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
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