Military trainer acquitted of assault

Faces up to 14 years in prison

Updated: Wednesday, 12 Sep 2012, 1:32 PM CDT
Published : Wednesday, 12 Sep 2012, 1:32 PM CDT

SAN ANTONIO (AP) - An instructor swept up in a sex scandal at an Air Force training base in San Antonio has been acquitted of sexually assaulting a boot camp graduate.

Staff Sgt. Kwinton Estacio, an instructor at Lackland Air Force Base, faces the lesser charge of wrongful sexual contact after a military judge ruled Tuesday there isn't enough evidence to support a sexual assault charge.

Estacio pleaded guilty to other violations Monday, but pleaded not guilty to sexual assault. The San Antonio Express-News reports that a jury will deliberate the sexual contact charge Wednesday.

The airman faces up to 14 years in prison. He had faced up to 43 years before the sexual assault acquittal.

Military prosecutors have investigated more than a dozen instructors at the base in San Antonio, and charged six.

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Military trainer acquitted of assault

Faces up to 14 years in prison

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