HIV POSITIVE NAVY PRIEST ACCUSED OR RAPING SAILORS

Ok, you have had your fluff today (re: Jodie Foster and the reality-gays), now back to the serious stuff:

A former Navy Chaplain is being accused of having unprotected consensual and non-consensual sex (aka rape) with numerous navy sailors:

An HIV-positive Catholic Navy chaplain plans to plead guilty Thursday to charges involving sexual misconduct with an unspecified number of men, according to his attorney, who said the priest has known of his HIV status for more than two years.

The chaplain, Lt. Cmdr. John Thomas Matthew Lee, 42, is facing a general court-martial in Quantico, Va. He had been charged with sodomy, aggravated assault, indecent assault, fraternization and conduct unbecoming a military officer, according to a Marine Corps statement. His attorney, David Sheldon, said Lee will plead guilty to “many” of those charges, but would not say which. Three witnesses will testify Thursday, he said.

Marine officials refused to release Lee’s charge sheet, which typically would give the number of specifications, explain why he is being charged and how much jail time he faces if convicted.

Neither Sheldon nor the Corps offered any details regarding the victims in the case. Sources said the sexual partners in question are all men.

“He has entered into a pretrial agreement with the government that will substantially reduce his exposure to confinement,” said Sheldon, who added that Lee was facing life without parole if convicted on all charges. “He’s extremely remorseful about what happened and about his conduct, both as a chaplain and as an officer. He will take responsibility for what he has done.”

Sources said Lee is facing aggravated assault charges because he is HIV-positive. In cases dating to 1987, military prosecutors have brought criminal charges for HIV-positive troops who have unprotected sex and fail to inform their partners. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces in 1991 approved the use of the aggravated assault charge in such cases.

Lee served as a chaplain at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., from 2003 to 2006, and was transferred then to Quantico, according to military records.

“We believe that the problem may be worse in the military than in other dioceses,” said David Clohessy, the national director of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, a victim’s advocacy group.

“For a sex offender priest, the military is very attractive because of the transience of military families and the even greater authority and trust that comes with having two titles — both a priest and an officer,” Clohessy said.