MONTREAL, July 20 (UPI) -- Legal preparations were under way Wednesday in Montreal for court-martial proceedings against a retired Canadian brigadier general facing sex charges.
Daniel Menard, 43, will face a military panel of judges Thursday on two counts alleging he had sex with a female subordinate in Afghanistan in 2010. Canadian military law prohibits "fraternizing" among troops in a combat or training theater.
At the time, Menard was the Joint Task Force commander in charge of 2,800 Canadian and U.S. troops in southern Afghanistan.
The female soldier he allegedly had sex with faced a lesser military court last fall and was fined $700.
Menard's wife is also in the military and the couple have two children.
After the allegations arose, Menard was transferred to a desk job in Ottawa. He resigned from the military soon after, Postmedia News said.
If found guilty of the charges of conduct to the prejudice of good order and discipline under the National Defense Act, penalties could include a fine, two years in prison, dismissal with disgrace to a rank reduction, officials said. His pension would not be affected.
This will be Menard's second court-martial. He was found guilty earlier of accidentally firing his rifle twice while boarding a helicopter in 2010 and paid a $3,500 fine, the report said.
