Embassy Marine Cleared of All Major Charges

QUANTICO, Va. â€”  A military jury on Thursday cleared Marine Staff Sgt. Robert Stufflebeam of charges that he had sex with Soviet prostitutes while serving as a guard at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.

The jury of five officers and three enlisted personnel also found Stufflebeam not guilty of charges that he lied to investigators and failed to report his alleged involvement with the Soviet prostitutes to his superiors.

Stufflebeam was convicted on two counts of dereliction of duty for frequenting Moscow bars the military deemed off limits to Marines. He faces up to six months in prison on each of those counts. Sentencing was scheduled for today.

Deliberates 2 1/2 Hours

The 25-year-old Marine from Bloomington, Ill., stood at attention as Marine Col. Edmund Gaucher read the verdicts on each charge. The jury deliberated for about 2 1/2 hours after the defense abruptly rested its case without presenting any witnesses.

Stufflebeam was accused of having sex with two Soviet prostitutes, of failing to report the contacts to authorities and then lying about the incidents to investigators. He faced up to 14 1/2 years in prison, if convicted of all charges.

Government prosecutors concluded their case earlier Thursday without revealing the nationalities of the prostitutes who allegedly had sex with Stufflebeam in 1985--a key element in the case against the Marine.

Three prosecution witnesses, all subordinates of Stufflebeam at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, testified that he led them to bars known to be frequented by prostitutes. However, the three witnesses said they were unsure of the women’s nationalities.

Forbidden Conduct

Under military law, Marine security guards are forbidden from having contact with citizens of Eastern Bloc nations or countries considered hostile to the United States.

Stufflebeam, who pleaded not guilty to all of the charges against him, told Naval Investigative Service agents that the women he met said they were Italian.

Agent James Pender testified Thursday that Stufflebeam first denied, then admitted, having had sex with two prostitutes he had met at an off-limits bar.

“He said initially they were Italian,� Pender said. “I think he knew they were Russian.�

Shortly after Pender concluded his testimony, the prosecution rested its case in the court-martial, which began Sept. 1.

Defense Rests

Moments later, defense attorney James Bagley announced: “Having considered the evidence before the court, the defense rests.�

Stufflebeam was arrested on March 29 as agents began investigating Sgt. Clayton J. Lonetree, one of Stufflebeam’s subordinates.

Lonetree is serving a 30-year prison sentence at the Quantico base as the first Marine ever convicted of espionage.