A divorce can be a messy affair outright, but when the military justice system gets involved a divorce can turn into a vehicle that absolutely destroys the life of a service member. In the case of a Marine Staff Sergeant stationed at MacDill AFB, that is exactly what was about to happen until Bilecki got involved.
The charges came about during a nasty divorce where the Staff Sergeant found himself accused of child sexual abuse. The matter was initially investigated by the Tampa civilian police who determined that there was no probable cause to prosecute the case. One might think the SSgt could then breathe a sigh of relief, but the military justice system had other plans.
The Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) took up the case and in a justice system where accusations are treated as proof of guilt, the military justice system went in for the kill. In response to the military’s decision to prosecute him for what the civilian police determined was a lack of probable cause, the SSgt retained attorney Tim Bilecki to fight for him.
After conducting a thorough investigation, Bilecki was able to quickly determine that the charges were merely the result of a fabrication created amidst the ugly divorce. The question then became about choosing the right strategy so that the military justice system would leave the SSgt alone for good.
The battle was set for the Article 32 hearing where Bilecki would proceed to shred the credibility of the accusations to pieces. It became apparent early on that the prosecution’s case was weak as hell and if brought to trial, Bilecki would make them all look like a fool. There is a reason why Tampa police didn’t pursue charges and Bilecki made that abundantly clear.
The result was that the charges of child sexual abuse were withdrawn, and court martial proceedings would not move forward. There were other legal matters that needed to be addressed, but Bilecki was able to direct those matters to be adjudicated at the reprimand level. However, he would not be branded a child predator and the SSgt’s life was rescued from the abyss as a result.
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