An Air Force Technical Sergeant was charged with two specifications of sexual assault in violation of Article 120, UCMJ, after a fellow Airman accused him of sexual assault after a night of drinking where she claimed she was too intoxicated to consent to sex.
Tim Bilecki was retained after charges were preferred and flew to Okinawa, Japan, for the Article 32 hearing. Surprisingly, the alleged victim testified as a government witness at the Article 32, and attorney Bilecki was able to aggressively cross-examine her, exposing significant holes in her story as well as a motive to fabricate.
The Article 32 Preliminary Hearing Officer found No Probable Cause and made a recommendation to the Convening Authority not to go forward with the case. Despite the recommendation, the government referred the charges to a General Court Martial. Being risk-averse, our client submitted a Chapter 6, Discharge in Lieu of Court Martial request, which was ultimately approved.
Prior results do not predict future outcomes.