I know it was only rumor that a neighbor/friend walked in on CL/EC, and that she told NL about it, and that NL then told JC. I believe it was true. Too many people knew about the affair, so discretion was cast to the wind. If there ever was a time when CL could have been brought up on charges for adultery, it was when everyone found out about the affair. It seems, too, that there were a lot of folks that knew the affair was ongoing. He could have been charged at any time.
I don't think it ever entered his mind that he could be dishonorably discharged or lose any benefits because of an affair. What he feared losing was his family. No, that fear didn't stop him from having an affair. He could/would/and probably did deny it. He probably had a great explanation for the compromising position the neighbor/friend caught them in. What he couldn't deny was a baby. He had to have believed he was the father. If JC was gone a lot or if EC told him that she wasn't sleeping with her husband, he would be convinced.