Chaplain faces cyberstalking, adultery charges - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Chaplain faces cyberstalking, adultery charges

TUCSON, Ariz. — A one-time Fort Huachuca chaplain faces seven Army criminal charges for having an affair with a Huachuca City woman.

Capt. Mike Myers, 45, was a chaplain with the 40th Signal Battalion from 2002 to 2005.

The married father of two teenagers has been charged with five counts of cyberstalking and one count each of adultery and conduct unbecoming an officer.

The military equivalent of a grand jury proceeding will be held May 23 in Japan to determine whether Myers should be court-martialed.

Myers now is stationed at Camp Zama in Japan and returned there from Iraq last fall.

The criminal charges stem from Myers’ relationship with Joanne Ruffner, 33.

Earlier this year, Ruffner said she met Myers in 2004 through an online personal ad. He said he was single and claimed to be a military intelligence soldier, never mentioning that he actually was married and a chaplain, she said.

Their platonic relationship turned romantic in 2006, after Myers deployed to Iraq and they began corresponding by e-mail.

The couple set a wedding date. However, Ruffner eventually learned the truth and reported Myers to the Army for adultery.

A few days later, nude photos of Ruffner, which she said she had e-mailed to Myers while he was in Iraq, began showing up on sexually explicit Web sites.

Ruffner complained to the FBI and Army investigators in Japan assisted in the investigation.

Maj. James Crawford, a Camp Zama spokesman, said that once evidence was gathered the Army requested jurisdiction to prosecute the case.

“This was an individual who was a moral role model and authority figure,” Crawford said.

“The Army does not tolerate this kind of behavior and felt it was important to prosecute,” Crawford said.

Reached by telephone at her home on Tuesday, Ruffner said she was relieved by the Army’s decision and “happy they took it seriously,” she said.

Myers, through his military lawyer, has declined to comment.