Whenever a staff non-commissioned officer engages in sexual activity with a subordinate, consequences are coming if the relationship is discovered. When a sexual encounter of that kind is recorded on a cell phone and distributed to the entire crew of a U.S. Navy ship, those consequences are difficult to avoid.
A Petty Officer First Class out of Pearl Harbor found herself in such a scenario when she was caught engaging in sexual activity aboard the ship with a junior enlisted sailor. Now, her decision to have sex with the young Sailor on this ship is her fault. The reason the video made its way throughout the vessel is not.
Other Sailors were able to witness the encounter through a hole in the wall and they subsequently recorded the engagement with an iPhone. The video spread like wildfire throughout the ship and eventually made its way to the Captain, which prompted an official investigation
At the time of the encounter, the Petty Officer held the rank of Chief and was generally respected among the crew. When confronted about sexual relationship, the Petty Officer initially lied which led to her being taken to Captain’s Mast for a lack of integrity. She was stripped of her rank (“lost her anchors”) and was subsequently told that she was heading for an administrative separation board.
Separation from the military might have been something that she could live with, but when she was told that her command was advocating for an Other Than Honorable (OTH) discharge she decided to fight back. She contacted Bilecki Law Group and attorney Tim Bilecki was on his way to Hawaii to advocate on her behalf.
Bilecki put together a strategy that highlighted the Petty Officer’s stellar career to that date. We also prepared the Petty Officer to testify on her own behalf. The strategy was never about getting her out of trouble as the video was fairly conclusive. She messed up, but the question was whether or not the sum of her career warranty and OTH when an honorable discharge would allow her to put this even behind her and move on with her life. Based on our advocacy at the board, she received the honorable discharge she was due.
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