Senior Airman Andrew Lira
might have been with dozens of newly minted airmen early Friday as they
marched in a graduation ceremony led by the roll of a recruit band's
snare drum, but he was in a courtroom just off the parade field instead.
He
was awaiting sentencing for having sought illicit relationships with
eight trainees at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, one of them a recruit
he seduced while she was still in basic training.
Just after noon, Lira stood before a judge, Col. Donald Eller Jr., and was sentenced to six months in jail, 30 days' hard labor, $1,200 in forfeitures and reduction to the lowest rank.
The
maximum sentence was one year, and Eller spared him a bad-conduct
discharge. If all goes well, Lira, 28, will earn five days a month for
good behavior, meaning he'll be out after Thanksgiving.
A seven-year veteran, Lira was the 23rd instructor tried in the Air Force's
worst sex scandal. All but one has been convicted since the first trial
in April 2011. The Air Force has investigated 33 instructors for
misconduct with 67 recruits and technical school students.
Lira was honored as Airman of the Quarter and Airman of the Year in his basic training squadron, said his lawyer, Capt. Meredith Steer.
The long hours in his highly competitive unit led to Lira spending much
more time with his trainees than his own family, the lawyer added.
Lira's
downfall started when he talked with a recruit in his flight who was
being transferred because of an injured ankle. The recruit, identified
as Airman 1, said she was surprised when Lira, who yelled at recruits in
her all-female flight, made a pass at her.
“'You're too good-looking for him,'” she said Lira told her while looking a picture of her and her ex-boyfriend.
Not
long after that, they kissed in his flight office before she boarded a
bus to her new unit. They had sex in a dorm shower, and met after her
discharge for days at a local hotel.
Lira met all the women while
they were in basic training flights he led, but had sex only with Airman
1. He swapped Facebook messages with the others, one of whom received a
photo of his private parts.
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