CASE 2018-05 | SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, HAWAII | ARMY E-5
Army SGT Caught in Child Sex Sting, Bilecki Negotiates Plea for Lesser Offense
May 2018
Schofield Barracks, Hawaii
Army Sergeant – E-5
Allegations: Attempted Sexual Assault on a Child, Attempted Lewd Act on a Child, Possession of Child Pornography
An Army Sergeant was caught in an Air Force "To Catch a Predator" sting operation in Honolulu, Hawaii. In this case, an Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI) agent was posting ads online and taking on the persona of a 15-year-old boy looking for sex. The Army Sergeant was arrested after arriving at the bait house on Joint Base Pearl Harbor – Hickam, Hawaii.
After being arrested, the case was transferred to the Army Criminal Investigative Division (CID), where a forensic examination of the Sergeant's phone was conducted. The digital forensic examination found child pornography on Sergeant's phone. He was subsequently charged with attempted sexual assault of a child, attempted lewd act on a child, and possession of child pornography.
Tim Bilecki was retained and filed a motion to suppress the suspected child pornography found on our client's phone, which had been obtained without a proper warrant. The military judge granted the suppression motion in full.
Bilecki then used that suppression ruling in negotiations and obtained a pre-trial agreement for our client. According to the pre-trial agreement, the most serious offenses, attempted sexual assault of a child and possession of child pornography, would be dismissed in exchange for a plea of guilty to the attempted lewd act on a child (sending sexual text messages) with a confinement cap of 12 months.
This pre-trial agreement was accepted, and our client escaped a conviction for the two most serious charges against him.
Result: Pre-trial agreement: attempted sexual assault and child pornography charges dismissed; guilty plea to attempted lewd act on a child, with a 12-month confinement cap.
Prior results do not predict future outcomes.