Air Force general acquitted of sexual assault charges

Major General Phillip Stewart, the first general in Air Force history to face a court-martial by jury, was found not guilty of sexual abuse on June 29 but guilty on other charges.

The eight-juror panel – the military term for a jury – found Stewart not guilty on two counts of Article 120, which prohibits sexual abuse. The panel found him guilty on one count of Article 133, of conduct unbecoming an officer for allegedly inviting a subordinate to spend the night with him; and one count of Article 92, of allegedly piloting an aircraft within 12 hours of consuming alcohol.

Earlier this week, on June 24, Stewart pleaded guilty to one count of dereliction of duty under Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, namely one count of maintaining an unprofessional relationship, and one count of violating Article 134 of the UCMJ, namely one count of extramarital affair.

The court-martial will now move into the sentencing phase, which is expected to begin June 29 and will be overseen by the judge, an Air Education and Training Command spokesman said in a statement.

“The evidence and the aggravating and mitigating factors are presented by a lawyer,” explained Captain Scarlett Trujillo. “Often, statements from the victims are also made.”

A spokesman for Stewart’s defense team said the team would issue a statement after the verdict was announced.

The maximum penalty for willful dereliction of duty not resulting in death or grievous bodily harm, according to the 2024 Courts Martial Manual, is a bad conduct discharge, loss of all pay and allowances, and 6 months’ imprisonment. The maximum penalty for extramarital conduct is a dishonorable discharge, loss of all pay and allowances, and 1 year’s imprisonment.

Back in December, the chairman of Stewart’s preliminary hearing recommended that the case not be brought to a court-martial. Retired Col. Don Christensen, a former chief prosecutor in the Air Force, described the officer, Col. Brian Thompson, as a very experienced former prosecutor, so he was not surprised that Stewart was found not guilty of sexual assault. But he said the finding does not lessen the seriousness of the other charges.

“The other crimes he was found guilty of are serious and his sentence should reflect that,” Christensen said. “As a general, he failed the troops he led and the Air Force.”

The trial began on June 17 with administrative proceedings, followed by nearly a week-long jury selection process in which more than 13 generals – all of whom had to rank higher than Stewart or have received a second star before him – traveled to the courtroom at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston in Texas. Selection ended on June 22 with eight members, followed by the presentation of evidence and testimony beginning on June 24, including testimony from the alleged victim of sexual assault. Stewart declined to testify, according to the San Antonio Express-News.

The only other Air Force general to be court-martialed, Major General William Cooley, was convicted of sexual abuse alone by a military judge in 2022. Stewart was replaced as head of the 19th Air Force by Lt. Gen. Brian Robinson, head of the Air Education and Training Command (AETC), on May 9, 2023.