Air Force sergeant pleads guilty to sexual misconduct

January 24, 2011 at 2:54p.m.

MASCOUTAH, Ill. (AP) — A chief master sergeant who was the top-ranking enlisted man at an Ohio Air Force base has pleaded guilty to military charges of adultery and sexual misconduct.

Chief Master Sgt. William Gurney faces up to 14 1/2 years in prison when he is sentenced. Court martial proceedings were expected to begin later Monday on six counts to which Gurney pleaded not guilty.

Military lawyers accused Gurney of harassing and having sex with female subordinates at Wright Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio. He is a 27-year Air Force veteran and was the senior enlisted man at the base’s Air Force Materiel Command when the allegations surfaced in 2009.