On October 19, 2007, a military judge found Steele not guilty on the charge of aiding the enemy, but guilty of "unauthorized possession of classified documents, behavior unbecoming an officer for an inappropriate relationship with an interpreter and failing to obey an order". Steele was sentenced to 2 years confinement (of a possible maximum 6-year sentence for the charges to which he had previously plead guilty, as well as an additional 10 years for the charges for which he was convicted), credited with time served, loss of his military retirement, forfeiture of pay and allowances, and dismissal from the military.