Bilecki Presents Missing Messages in Okinawa Sexual-Assault Investigation; No Charges

Bilecki Presents Missing Messages in Okinawa Sexual-Assault Investigation; No Charges

June 2022

Okinawa, Japan

Marine Sergeant | E-5

Allegations: UCMJ Article 120 Sexual Assault

Facts

A short Okinawa dating relationship turned into an NCIS Article 120 sexual assault investigation.

Our client was a Marine Sergeant stationed in Okinawa. The alleged victim was a civilian English teacher on Okinawa who had a history of dating Marines. They met, flirted, spent time together, and had a short sexual relationship. After she found out he was seeing other women, she reported to the command that the sex had been nonconsensual. The allegation moved from command to NCIS.

Bilecki was retained early, before charges were preferred and before the Marine gave NCIS a statement. That mattered. NCIS did not get an uncontrolled interview. The Marine did not sit for a polygraph. He did not consent to a search. Instead, the defense forced the case back to the evidence that existed before the allegation: the messages between the two of them.

The key evidence was the text message thread the alleged victim did not give the Government.

The alleged victim denied having a prior sexual relationship with the Marine. The messages showed otherwise. They showed the relationship developing in real time: flirting, plans to meet, him picking her up, her confirming he made it home safely, the two of them continuing to talk afterward, and more plans to see each other again. After the alleged incident, she kept texting him. She referenced the sexual encounter, the hickeys, what she enjoyed, what she wanted, and what they might do next. She told him she had fun. She made plans to meet again. The defense used the content of those messages to challenge her denial of the prior relationship and her account of this encounter. Her own references to what had happened and what she wanted next supported our client’s account.

The messages also showed why the allegation changed. The alleged victim was upset that he was seeing other women in Okinawa. That context mattered because the later accusation did not arrive in a vacuum. It came after jealousy, continued contact, and text traffic that contradicted what she told command.

She did not turn over those messages. The defense did.

Tim provided the complete message thread to the prosecution and command. They could now compare the allegation with what the two had actually said to each other before and after the encounter.

After reviewing the messages, prosecution and command decided not to prefer charges and not to issue adverse administrative action.

The NCIS investigation closed without charges.

For a Marine Sergeant in Okinawa facing an Article 120 sexual assault allegation, the exposure was a general court-martial, federal conviction, Dishonorable Discharge, sex offender registration, and confinement. None of that happened.

Result: NCIS Article 120 investigation closed without charges. No federal conviction. No SORNA. No adverse administrative action.

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FAQ

Q: Why did the text messages matter in this Article 120 investigation?
Because they showed what the alleged victim was saying and doing before and after the alleged incident. She denied a prior sexual relationship, but the messages showed the opposite. They showed flirting, plans to meet, references to the sexual encounter, hickeys, what she enjoyed, and plans to see him again. They also showed that she was upset he was seeing other women. That text-message history directly undermined the later allegation.

Q: Why did early defense involvement matter?
Because the defense got involved before charges and before the Marine gave NCIS a statement. Bilecki kept him from walking into an uncontrolled interview and focused the case on the messages the alleged victim had not provided. That gave prosecution and command the evidence they needed before the case hardened into preferred charges.

Q: What does it mean when an NCIS Article 120 investigation closes without charges?
It means the Government did not prefer charges and the case did not move to court-martial. Here, prosecution and command reviewed the text messages the defense provided and decided not to prefer charges or issue adverse administrative action. The Marine avoided court-martial, federal conviction, SORNA, and a punitive discharge.