Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image

Marine cleared of sex charges

NZPA-Reuter Washington

A United States Marine sergeant, Robert Stufflebeam, has been cleared on charges of having sex with Soviet prostitutes while serving as a guard at the United States Embassy in Moscow but was found guilty of dereliction of duty. Stufflebeam, aged 24, could be sentenced today to a maximum of a year in prison after being found guilty of two counts of dereliction of duty by frequenting an off-limits Moscow bar and taking subordinates there, said a Marine spokesman, Sergeant Steven Merrill. The spokesman said an eight-member court martial panel found Stufflebeam innocent of the more serious charges of having sex with Soviet prostitutes and lying about it to Navy investigators. Stufflebeam could have

been sentenced to a maximum of 141/2 years in prison if convicted on all charges. The court martial panel reached its verdict after a brief trial at the Quantico Marine Corps Base, south of Washington. Stufflebeam was one of four Marines charged in a scandal in which several were accused of trading United States secrets for sex in Soviet and Eastbloc United States embassies. Only one, Sergeant Clayton Lonetree, eventually stood trial on espionage charges. He was convicted last month of giving Soviet K.G.B. agents classified information and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Stufflebeam and two other Marines were not accused of espionage but were charged with lesser offences.

This article text was automatically generated and may include errors. View the full page to see article in its original form.
Permanent link to this item

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19870912.2.83.2

Bibliographic details

Press, 12 September 1987, Page 10

Word Count
231

Marine cleared of sex charges Press, 12 September 1987, Page 10

Marine cleared of sex charges Press, 12 September 1987, Page 10