A Navy Pilot O-3 was accused of attempted sexual assault of a minor, finding himself in the crosshairs of the NCIS while on temporary duty in Okinawa, Japan. Similar to many other sting operations, he was targeted after answering an ad on the “Whisper” dating app, which had been posted deceptively by NCIS.
After the Officer began chatting with the NCIS undercover investigator, the agent stated that her age was 14 years old but sent a picture of a 22-year-old adult female. After seeing the photographs, the Officer believed the person he was chatting with was an adult. Twenty additional images of this adult female confirmed his belief that he was speaking with a woman of legal age. The O-3 and the NCIS agent agreed to meet up at a public location on base. When the Officer arrived, he was arrested, interrogated, and later charged.
The O-3 quickly retained a noted court martial attorney in Japan, Tim Bilecki, to represent his interests in court. Mr. Bilecki immediately began working on the case, refusing the initial plea deal offered by the government, which would have about guaranteed four years in confinement for our client. After skillfully cross-examining both the NCIS agent who was running the sting operation and the undercover investigator conducting the chats, Bilecki quickly proved his case for entrapment and secured a not-guilty verdict for his client on all counts.
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