Woman Agrees to Testify Against Top Army Sergeant

WASHINGTON —  The first of four women to accuse Sergeant Major of the Army Gene McKinney of sex harassment reversed herself Thursday and agreed to testify.

Retired Sgt. Maj. Brenda Hoster previously had refused to testify at a military hearing that will determine whether McKinney, the Army’s senior enlisted man, will be court-martialed on sex-harassment charges. Three other women also have leveled such accusations, which McKinney has denied.

In a letter to military officials, Hoster’s lawyer said she would testify July 25 under an agreement aimed at keeping her from being asked about her sexual past.

Hoster had refused to testify without limits on such questions. She has contended that the other women were treated unfairly during the hearing at Washington’s Ft. McNair.

Hoster also objected that planned testimony in McKinney’s favor by the Army chief of staff, Gen. Dennis Reimer, would unfairly influence the proceedings.

The letter by her lawyer, Susan Barnes, said military prosecutors had agreed to raise objections if McKinney’s defense lawyers ask questions about her sexual past. Military court rules generally bar questioning of accusers about such matters, and the hearing’s presiding officer, Col. Robert Jarvis, said Thursday that he intends to enforce the rule.

Prosecutors did not object earlier in the hearing when one of McKinney’s other accusers, Army Sgt. Christine Roy, was asked whether her husband was the father of her child and whether she had considered having an abortion.

Hoster, who worked as McKinney’s public affairs specialist, says McKinney made sexual overtures to her in a hotel room on a business trip.

The other three women came forward after Hoster’s accusation became public in February.