Aaron Allmon II on trial for sexual harassment at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota

MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, North Dakota | Tech. Sgt. Aaron D. Allmon II listened stoically in court Wednesday as three female former co-workers described feeling uncomfortable, even violated, by his behavior toward them.

One airman testified that he touched her on the thigh to get a better look at the tattoo peeking out from under her shorts. Another said he put his hands on her face and kissed her forehead after learning she was going through a painful divorce.

A former civilian co-worker whom he supervised said she showed him a selfie of her wearing shorts and a sports bra. He responded by showing her a naked selfie with his thumb covering his private parts, then asked her if she wanted him to remove his thumb, she said.

“I was appalled, very shocked,” she said.

The prosecution testimony painted Sgt. Allmon as an inappropriately physical supervisor who created a hostile work environment for his female subordinates by coming onto them, then made vague but sinister threats to prevent them from reporting him to the Sexual Assault Response Coordinator.

Whether he deserves time behind bars for sexual harassment, primarily four incidents of touching and “repeated verbal comments of a sexual nature,” is another question. His supporters have argued that the military is making him a scapegoat in order to prove its toughness in combating sexual assault, seeking a sentence for his offenses far longer than the punishment for Army deserter Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.

Prosecutors originally charged him with more than 20 counts, including aggravated sexual assault, that could have drawn a sentence of 130 years as the Air Force moves to crack down on sexual harassment. Since then, the list of charges against him has been pared significantly after the prosecution was widely accused of overkill.

During Wednesday’s testimony, Air Force Special Agent Trevor Jones said that Sgt. Allmon had lied about the whereabouts of his cellphone during the investigation leading up to the court-martial. The phone was found in his office drawer even though Sgt. Allmon said his wife had it.

What was on the phone? A naked photo of Sgt. Allmon, Mr. Jones said.

The most riveting testimony, however, came from the three women, who described uncomfortable encounters from 2012 to 2014 with Sgt. Allmon, an award-winning combat photographer who supervised others in the public affairs office at Minot A.F.B.

A fourth woman, an airman whom he had supervised in the public affairs office, testified Tuesday.

During an interoffice basketball game, a staff sergeant who helped coach the base team said that the defendant sat next to her during a break, then partially lifted her shorts to get a look at a flower tattoo that was partially visible on her hip.

She described his movement as a “very seductive, sweeping motion of my leg” that lifted her shorts “all the way up to my underwear line.” She said she pulled down her shorts right away, but that the episode left her feeling “exposed and creeped out.”

Later that day, she said he put his hand on her lower back as they left the fitness center in a gesture that was “sensual, sexual, very intimate,” and told her that, “if you need anything, let me know.”

The only civilian to testify was a woman who worked with Sgt. Allmon in the public affairs office, where he taught photography and shot pictures for base publications. She described repeated episodes of flirting, including a call in which he asked her to come to his house and watch a movie, saying his wife was not home.

She also said he told her that others viewed her as someone who “slept around a lot” and “gave lap dances to people.” As a result, she said, her work performance suffered.

One day in the office, a co-worker accidentally grazed her thigh, which Sgt. Allmon then re-enacted by running his hand up her inner thigh, she said.

A senior airman who is openly lesbian testified Sgt. Allmon asked her whether she had slept with men before deciding to marry another woman. When that relationship ended with her wife asking for a divorce, he called her into his office to tell her that she was smart and attractive, and that the other woman was losing out.

The conversation made her “very uncomfortable,” and when she rose to leave, he kissed her forehead, telling her “something like, ’It’ll be all right,’” which left her “confused.”

On cross-examination, she agreed that she had previously said that he should “fry” for his actions. Attorneys for Sgt. Allmon pointed out Wednesday that none of the touching incidents could be corroborated by other witnesses.

The prosecution concluded Wednesday, with the defense scheduled to call witnesses starting Thursday.