Bilecki Presents Message History Before Charges; Fort Bragg Sexual-Assault Investigation Closes

Bilecki Presents Message History Before Charges; Fort Bragg Sexual-Assault Investigation Closes

September 2022

Fort Bragg, North Carolina

Army Specialist | E-4

Allegations: UCMJ Article 120 Sexual Assault

Facts

The day CID wanted to interrogate a Fort Bragg Specialist for sexual assault, Bilecki stopped the interview and made the case about the messages.

In June 2022, the command called the Soldier in for a CID interview on an Article 120 sexual assault allegation. He retained Bilecki that same day. Before CID questioned him, Bilecki sent a Notice of Representation to the assigned Special Agent. We advised the Soldier to remain silent and told CID that he would not submit to questioning or a polygraph. The notice also withdrew consent to searches and made clear that any search would require an independent lawful basis.

The Soldier gave no statement.

That mattered because Article 120 cases often become stronger when CID gets the accused talking. A statement gives investigators words to parse, inconsistencies to argue, and admissions to build around. Here, CID got none of that.

The defense then turned to the alleged victim's own messages.

We read the entire message thread against the allegation, looking at what she said, when she said it and how the relationship continued. The alleged victim repeatedly initiated contact after the alleged incident. She asked for rides. She asked for help with errands. She made plans to hang out. She asked for alcohol and store runs. She talked about friends, relationships, work, money, pregnancy concerns involving others, health issues, hospital visits, tattoos, food, and ordinary day-to-day problems. The exchanges were casual, familiar, and ongoing.

The defense did not need to dress up one perfect text. The pattern was the point.

For weeks and months after the alleged incident, the alleged victim continued to reach out to him voluntarily. She asked him to pick her up. She coordinated plans. She asked him to help with basic life problems. He checked on her when she was sick or at the hospital. We argued that this continuing contact mattered to the assessment of her account. The point was to have CID consider the actual communications and their context, rather than evaluate the allegation without them.

Bilecki provided the message record in a formal defense package before charges were preferred. The defense put the alleged victim's own words in front of the decision makers and showed the gap between the accusation and the contemporaneous communications.

The investigation closed. No Article 120 charges were preferred. No court-martial. No NJP. No administrative separation.

For a Fort Bragg Soldier facing an Article 120 sexual assault allegation, the exposure was a General Court-Martial, Dishonorable Discharge, federal conviction, confinement, and sex offender registration. None of that happened.

Result: No Article 120 charges preferred. No court-martial. No federal conviction. No SORNA.

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FAQ

Q: What did Bilecki do before the CID interview?
Tim entered the case that day, advised the Soldier to remain silent and sent CID written notice of the representation and the Soldier’s decisions about questioning, consent searches and a polygraph. The Soldier gave no statement. We then prepared the affirmative defense submission from the message record.

Q: Why submit the messages before charges were preferred?
The communications gave the lawyers evaluating the investigation information beyond the allegation itself. Bilecki presented the full sequence of continuing contact and explained why it mattered to this account. No charges, NJP or administrative separation followed.