An Army Sergeant Major came under investigation by the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) after another senior Non-Commissioned Officer accused him of sexual assault during a TDY to Africa. The two had gone out drinking together were seen flirting, although nothing sexual happened. They took pictures with each other on the TDY—nothing sexual—but to someone who didn’t know them, it might have looked like they were boyfriend and girlfriend. He posted the pictures online, and the other senior NCO’s husband saw them and accused her of being unfaithful. This led to an allegation of non-consensual sexual touching against the Sergeant Major. Anyone with more than a few brain cells could spot the clear motive to fabricate, but in the Army’s SHARP culture, a full-blown investigation was required.
The Sergeant Major, with a stellar career of service to this nation, was treated like a common criminal. Tired of waiting for CID to ruin his life, the Sergeant Major retained sex assault court martial lawyer Tim Bilecki. We quickly interviewed all the senior leaders on the TDY and reviewed all the photos taken on the night in question. It became apparent that the accuser was very flirtatious with our client, despite being married, and that nothing happened between them sexually. It still took CID months to figure this out, but after continuing to talk to the SJA office, no court martial charges were preferred. Because this was a SHARP case, the Commanding General issued a General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand (GOMOR) to the SGM. We drafted extensive rebuttal matters and based on our rebuttal matters, the CG withdrew and destroyed the GOMOR. The Sergeant Major’s FLAG was lifted, and he was able to continue with his career. Fed up with the Army’s SHARP program, he later submitted his retirement and happily retired from the Army. The Army, on the other hand, lost a highly trained senior leader with multiple combat deployments.
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