A former Fort Huachuca chaplain has been ordered to stand trial in military court on seven charges stemming from his affair with a Southern Arizona woman.
Capt. Mike Myers, 45, will be court-martialed on five counts of cyberstalking and one count each of adultery and conduct unbecoming an officer, said Maj. James Crawford, a spokesman at Camp Zama in Japan, where Myers now is stationed.
Myers was committed for trial after a recent Article 32 hearing — the military version of a grand jury proceeding — in Japan, Crawford said.
Myers, who is married and is the father of two teenagers, was a chaplain with Fort Huachuca's 40th Signal Battalion from 2002 to 2005.
It was during that time that he met Joanne Ruffner, 33, a Tucson native who now lives in Huachuca City.
Ruffner, a former soldier, has said that Myers claimed to be single and told her he was a military intelligence officer. The two later began an intimate relationship, in person and online from Iraq after Myers was transferred to Japan and then deployed overseas.
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He is accused of posting nude photos of Ruffner on adult Web sites and of e-mailing them to her co-workers, after Ruffner learned Myers was a married chaplain and reported his conduct to the Army.
Ruffner complained to the FBI in Tucson, and Army detectives in Japan assisted in the investigation. The Army requested jurisdiction to prosecute Myers and is keeping him in the military to retain legal jurisdiction over him during trial.
The date of Myers' trial has yet to be determined, Crawford said. Ruffner is expected to fly to Japan to testify.
Myers was disciplined by the Army in November with a Field Grade Article 15 for adultery and unbecoming conduct over the affair.
The National Association of Evangelicals, which had endorsed Myers as a chaplain, revoked its approval after learning through news stories about his punishment for adultery.
Without a religious endorsement, Myers ceased being a chaplain and no longer performs chaplain duties, Crawford said.
If Myers is tried and convicted of all charges, he faces a maximum penalty of 27 years in prison and dismissal from the service, Crawford said.
