Officer avoids jail but is demoted for falsifying data Captain David Sperry Pratt. A senior military policeman who falsified paperwork to hide the fact that an Afghan prisoner had been held longer than the regulation 96 hours has escaped a jail term and instead been demoted. David Sperry Pratt, 46, was found guilty by a Canberra court martial on Tuesday of two counts of making false entries in documents, including one count "with intent to deceive" in late 2010. On Wednesday, a panel of five army officers busted Major Pratt down to the rank of captain. The maximum penalty for each charge was two years' jail. As commanding officer of Australia's detention management team at Tarin Kowt base in Afghanistan in late 2010, Captain Pratt made false entries, using a subordinate's identification number, in a log book to make it appear a prisoner was released earlier than he actually was. This meant the log book showed the prisoner was detained 95.5 hours rather than the actual 100.5 hours. Under Australian Defence Force rules in Afghanistan, prisoners must be released or transferred from the "initial screening area" within 96 hours. Captain Pratt was cleared on Tuesday of three separate charges of trying to cover up the apparent beating of another Afghan prisoner. Prosecutor Warren Nazzari said Captain Pratt had breached the trust of his superiors and acted in a way that reflected badly on the Defence Force. "It might be tempting to think, 'What's four hours?"' Major Nazzari said, referring to the delay in releasing the prisoner. But ... he set out to actively and deliberately deceive his own command. He failed them and has affected the ADF's reputation. Defence counsel Jonathan Hyde pointed to Captain Pratt's clean record and to a glowing character reference provided by a superior. He said Captain Pratt's reputation had been damaged by the accusations that he falsified paperwork to hide a complaint by another prisoner who had been brought into custody by Australian special forces with facial injuries and blood on his face. The court martial rejected those charges. The court was told that the key witness, Corporal Aaron Sweet, had been referred for psychological examination to see if he was fit to be in the army.