Raleigh, North Carolina: The first of three soldiers at Fort Bragg charged after allegedly appearing on a gay porn Web site has accepted a plea bargain with the military. Pfc. Richard Ashley, a members of the elite 82nd Airborne, will appear this week before a military judge to finalize the agreement.

The other two other soldiers, Pfc. Wesley K. Mitten and Pvt. Kagen B. Mullen, are scheduled to stand trial in May. Officials at Fort Bragg have declined to say if plea deals have been offered in those cases. All three were charged with sodomy, pandering and engaging in sex acts over the Internet for money. In addition, Mullen was charged with adultery. Four other soldiers charged with lesser crimes involving their participation in the Web site have already received sentences that included reduction of rank, forfeiture of a half month pay and restriction to base for 45 days. Once their sentences are complete they will be discharged from the military.

Earlier this year when the charges were first laid against the soldiers (story) Maj. Todd Vician, a Defense Department spokesman in Washington, told the Associated Press the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy states that "homosexual orientation alone is not a bar to service, but homosexual conduct is incompatible with military service."

"We define homosexual conduct as homosexual acts or verbal or nonverbal communication that a member is homosexual," Vician said.