A Marine Staff Sergeant was charged with sexual assault of a minor after having sex with a girl he met on Tinder. This case shows with absolute certainty that you have to be extraordinarily careful with whom you meet and hook up with on dating apps.
The Marine met the alleged victim using Tinder, where she listed herself as an 18-year-old female who was interested in military men. The two exchanged information, went out with each other and had sex. While meeting up, the alleged victim did not disclose her real age to our client and dressed and acted in a manner more consistent with someone in her twenties than in her mid-teens.
After the alleged victim’s mother found out that her daughter was hooking up with a US Marine, she became upset and contacted law enforcement authorities. After the investigation, the Marine was charged and retained Tim Bilecki, a recognized UCMJ 120 sexual assault attorney in Hawaii, to defend him.
The case went to a jury trial; we conducted a blistering multi-day cross-examination of the alleged victim, exposing that she intentionally misrepresented and lied about her age and that she had done this same thing with numerous other military men. The jury agreed that our client got duped and that he was the real victim of all of this.
The jury deliberated and fully acquitted our client.
Defending Service Members Globally
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