An Army paratrooper pleaded guilty Thursday to engaging in sex acts on a military-themed gay pornographic Web site and was sentenced to prison. Pfc. Richard T. Ashley, one of seven members of the 82nd Airborne Division charged with appearing on the site, pleaded guilty to sodomy, conduct considered detrimental to the Army and the unit, and drug use.
He was sentenced to 90 days in prison but was given 15 days' credit. Ashley also was demoted to private, will receive a bad conduct discharge, and will lose two thirds of his pay. "I've embarrassed the entire Army, my country and, most of all, dishonored God," Ashley said during the hearing.
Pfc. Wesley K. Mitten and Pvt. Kagen B. Mullen were charged with pandering, sodomy, and conduct detrimental to the Army and the unit. Mitten and Mullen, who also faces adultery charges, have pleaded not guilty.
The 82nd Airborne says that four other soldiers, whose names were not released, received nonjudicial punishment for appearing on the Web site. They were reduced in rank to private, forfeited half a month's pay for two months, performed extra work, and were restricted to Fort Bragg for 45 days. The Army has recommended that all seven be discharged.
The 15,000 paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne are among the Army's most elite soldiers, having volunteered to serve in a unit that trains to deploy anywhere in the world within 18 hours. The military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy states that "homosexual orientation alone is not a bar to service, but homosexual conduct is incompatible with military service." Service members who violate the policy are removed from the military. (AP)
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