An Army officer who worked for U.S. Pacific Command was found guilty Friday by a military jury of illegally possessing and passing classified national defense information, an Army official said.
The jury Friday night sentenced Maj. Seivirak Inson to 10 years in prison, forfeiture of pay and dismissal from the Army.
Inson passed classified intelligence assessments about Cambodia to an unidentified person not entitled to have them between 2009 and 2012, and had unauthorized possession of a U.S. Pacific Command maritime strategy document, which he "had reason to believe could be used to the injury of the United States," the Army said.
Capt. Leslie Waddle, a spokeswoman for the Army’s 8th Theater Sustainment Command in Hawaii, said Inson was found guilty of those charges as well as a charge that he had unauthorized possession of a Defense Intelligence Agency intelligence report, and that he failed to report to his chain of command that he had contact with Cambodian military and government officials.
Inson was found guilty of a charge that he cheated on his wife — a criminal offense in the military — but was found not guilty of beating her, Waddle said. He also was found not guilty of the accusation that he compiled information about U.S. service members of Cambodian descent with the intent to transmit that information to the Cambodian military, she said.
Maj. Kevin Landtroop, the prosecutor, told the seven-member panel of high-ranking military officers during closing arguments Friday morning that the case was about loyalty and trust.
He urged the jury to find Inson guilty on all charges.
Inson’s civilian Honolulu lawyer, Emmanuel Tipon, argued in his closing that the panelists shouldn’t return a "knee-jerk" verdict, but instead consider that the prosecution didn’t prove its case.
Tipon acknowledged that his client had some of the classified documents on his home computer, but said the prosecution failed to prove Inson’s actions harmed or brought discredit to the armed forces.
He told the jury it should acquit his client.
Inson, who has been in custody now for nearly a year, did not testify during the trial, which opened this week.
Inson’s case is Hawaii’s third to come to light in recent months involving allegations of national security breaches.
Edward Snowden has been identified as the person who disclosed information on secret National Security Agency surveillance programs that he gathered while working and living in Hawaii. And Benjamin Bishop, a defense contractor, is awaiting trial in federal court on charges of giving his Chinese girlfriend classified information.
Inson was born and raised in Cambodia and fled to the United States after his parents were killed during the Khmer Rouge regime during the 1970s, Tipon said.
Inson worked at U.S. Pacific Command’s joint Intelligence Operations Center but moved to the 8th Theater Sustainment Command.
He and his wife, Kakada, rented a three-bedroom home in Aiea in 2009.
Inson quietly sat in uniform at the defense table without showing much emotion during the closing arguments in the courtroom at Wheeler Army Airfield.
Inson’s marriage, according to closing arguments, was a turbulent one, with Inson having an affair with a woman who gave birth to a daughter.
His wife had complained to the chain of command, but they didn’t believe her because her husband was an Army major, the prosecutor said.
When she discovered her husband had resumed the affair, she became upset. Inson beat and choked her and hit her head with a belt buckle, the prosecutor said.
She left for the mainland but returned at Inson’s request, only to find the other woman living at the Aiea home, Landtroop said.
Inson’s wife gave authorities information about documents he had in April 2012, when authorities launched the investigation that led to the charges, according to the prosecutor.
Tipon told the panel the prosecution was trying to portray his client as a "bad guy" to overcome a lack of evidence.
The defense lawyer didn’t dispute that his client had the affair, but he argued the prosecution did not prove the affair harmed or discredited the military.
Inson compiled information about other Army members of Cambodian descent, but it was a way to interact with them, the defense attorney said.
Tipon characterized Inson’s actions as "networking."
The defense lawyer also said a house guest never heard any screaming during the beating and that Inson’s wife didn’t report the injuries until the next day.
Tipon later said although his client is not charged with spying, the prosecution tried to portray his client as an agent of the Cambodian government, which was not true.
He said his client devoted 20 years of military service to his adopted country but must endure allegations questioning his loyalty and trust.
"It’s been tough on him but he’s holding up pretty well," Tipon said.
