Aviano Domestic Violence Plea: Time Served and No Punitive Discharge

Aviano Domestic Violence Plea: Time Served and No Punitive Discharge

February 2026

Aviano Air Base, Italy

Air Force Master Sergeant – E-7

Allegations: UCMJ Article 128b Domestic Violence; UCMJ Article 128 Assault; UCMJ Article 128b Strangulation; UCMJ Article 90 Violation of No-Contact Order

Facts

An Air Force Master Sergeant at Aviano was charged in a broad domestic-violence court-martial built from family allegations spanning several years. After a later no-contact-order allegation, he was placed in pretrial confinement. The case ended with most domestic-violence specifications dismissed, time served, and no punitive discharge.

The government charged an alleged assault on his spouse in 2021, multiple incidents involving his daughter in 2022, another family incident in 2023, and the later no-contact-order violation in 2024 after the family had already returned to the United States. That no-contact allegation is what put him into confinement.

The case was bigger than any single charged event. It involved a senior NCO with multiple combat deployments, serious alcohol problems, PTSD-related issues, repeated conflict inside the home, and years of family dysfunction. The allegations also included substance-abuse issues tied to the same downward spiral. By the time Tim Bilecki took the case, the government had years of accusations and a charging posture that put prison time and a punitive discharge squarely on the table.

The defense objective was straightforward: keep a punitive discharge off the table and get him out of confinement.

We traveled to Europe multiple times to investigate the case, litigate motions, and meet with the client while he was in pretrial confinement. The defense team included Patrick Eller of Metadata Forensics as the digital forensic examiner and Dr. Gabriel Holguin as the forensic psychologist. This was not a case the government was going to discount on its own. The plea discussions moved only after the defense developed the case, litigated it, and changed the leverage.

That work changed the result.

By the time the case resolved, most of the domestic-violence specifications had been withdrawn and dismissed. The plea was to one no-contact-order specification and one narrowed domestic-violence specification. Most importantly, the agreement kept a punitive discharge off the table. The sentence was thirteen months, and the record identified 334 days of confinement credit. The client’s release outcome was time served.

For a client who ended up in pretrial confinement on a broad domestic-violence court-martial, that mattered.

Result: Plea. Most domestic-violence specifications dismissed. Time served. No punitive discharge.

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FAQ

Q: What was Bilecki trying to accomplish while the client was confined?
He sought a resolution that would end confinement and avoid a punitive discharge. The defense traveled to Europe, met with the client, investigated the allegations and litigated motions with digital forensic and psychological assistance. Most domestic-violence specifications were ultimately withdrawn and dismissed.

Q: What did the plea leave in place?
Our client pleaded guilty to a no-contact-order violation and a narrowed domestic-violence specification. The sentence was thirteen months, with 334 days of credit identified in the record. The release outcome was time served, and no punitive discharge was imposed.