Barksdale major court-martialed for online chat

  • Published
An officer here pleaded guilty at a general court-martial to two specifications of conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman under Article 133, Uniform Code of Military Justice.

While on temporary duty at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., Maj. Paul McNeme engaged in a sexually explicit online chat with someone he believed was a 14-year-old girl. During their online chat, he also discussed plans to meet with and have sex with this girl. The person he was really conversing with was an adult from a sting operation, who turned a copy of the chat log over to law enforcement authorities after the incident.

Major McNeme was convicted and sentenced to a dismissal from the Air Force and three months confinement. The dismissal of an officer is equivalent to a dishonorable discharge for an enlisted member.

The major, who was in the Air Force for 14 years at the time of his court-martial, was an instructor at the 340th Weapons Squadron at the time he committed his offenses.

(Courtesy of 2nd Bomb Wing Judge Advocate)