US Air Force trainer gets 45 days' jail in sex scam

A US Air Force training instructor was sentenced to 45 days in jail after confessing on Monday to engaging in an improper relationship with a trainee in a case that is part of a wider sex scandal at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas.

Jason Manko was reduced in rank from staff sergeant to airman first class and sentenced to 45 days in prison after pleading guilty on Monday.

A military judge, who heard the case without a court martial panel, declined to discharge Manko from the Air Force, allowing him to stay in the service and undergo internal punishment.

“This appears to be another case where the punishment does not fit the crime,” said Nancy Parrish, president of Protect Our Defenders, a group that fights sexual assault in the military. “This supports a perception that sexual offenses are a low priority in the military.”

Six trainers at Lackland Air Force base in San Antonio have been charged with sexual misconduct in the worst military sex scandal in 16 years. A total of 38 women have come forward to claim they were victims of inappropriate conduct at the hands of their basic training instructors.

Manko was ordered to forfeit $1,500 in pay over three months and sentenced to 30 days hard labor without confinement, in addition to the reduction in rank. He also will be restricted to base for 30 days. Four other instructors have either pleaded guilty or been convicted by courts martial. They have been sentenced to punishments ranging from 30 days to 20 years in prison.