Air Force Colonel Wants Adultery Charges Dropped

A military law expert says a rape and adultery case against an Air Force officer in Colorado may be the first time attorneys have argued that the armed forces' ban on extramarital sex discriminates against heterosexuals.

Eugene R. Fidell, who teaches military justice at Yale Law School, said Tuesday he doesn't know of any other case where the argument has been tried.

Lawyers for Col. Eugene Caughey challenged the adultery provision Monday in a hearing at Peterson Air Force Base. Caughey is charged with rape, adultery and other crimes.

The Gazette reports Caughey's attorneys say the military defines adultery as sex between a man and a woman and doesn't hold same-sex couples to the same standards.

Military prosecutors argued the adultery ban applies to same-sex couples as well.

The judge hasn't ruled on the argument.