Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2007. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Associated Press - December 6, 2007
Lt. Cmdr. John Thomas Lee, 42 years old, of Burke, Va., was sentenced after reaching a plea agreement with prosecutors at a court-martial at Quantico Marine Corps Base, south of Washington.
Cmdr. Lee, a Catholic priest, was assigned to the U.S. Naval Academy from 2003 to 2006 and later to Quantico.
As part of the plea agreement, he admitted that he learned of his HIV status in 2005. In December 2006, he had sex with an Air Force lieutenant colonel, and lied to the victim about his HIV status when asked.
The forcible sodomy with the midshipman occurred in the fall of 2004, when the midshipman was in his junior year. The midshipman, who was not identified, testified in the trial's sentencing phase that he allowed Cmdr. Lee to perform oral sex on him because he was intimidated by Cmdr. Lee's status as a chaplain.
"This was a priest. This was a guy who knew all of my darkest secrets," the victim, now a Navy ensign, said on the witness stand. He had previously received counseling from Cmdr. Lee.
Marine spokesman Maj. Tim Keefe said after Thursday's hearing that nobody is known to have actually contracted HIV from Cmdr. Lee.
In addition to sodomy, Cmdr. Lee was charged with conduct unbecoming a military officer, aggravated assault and indecent assault and fraternization.
Cmdr. Lee was ordained as a priest in 1993 and began serving as a military chaplain in 1996, said Julia Rota, a spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of the Military Services, which oversees Catholic priests in the military. His faculties to function as a priest were revoked in June, after an accuser came forward, Ms. Rota said.
Cmdr. Lee was commissioned as an officer in 1988, according to military records. He served at the Naval Academy from September 2003 until October 2006, and later was reassigned to Quantico. He was relieved of his duties in June. His previous assignments include Camp Pendleton in California, Pearl Harbor and Italy.
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