Bilecki Removes Public Sting Video and Negotiates NJP and General Discharge for Navy Sailor

Bilecki Removes Public Sting Video and Negotiates NJP and General Discharge for Navy Sailor

August 2022

Naval Base San Diego, California

Navy E-3

Allegations: UCMJ Article 80 Attempted Sexual Act on a Person Purporting to Be Under 15; UCMJ Article 134 Indecent Language

Facts

This was a young Navy Sailor in a Surface Combat Systems training pipeline at Naval Base San Diego facing the worst possible internet exposure. There was no actual minor at any point. The "minor" identity was a civilian vigilante running a private sting operation. The vigilante had lured our client to a hotel, recorded him on video, and posted the encounter to YouTube to drive clicks. The allegation exposed him to a potential court-martial and serious criminal consequences.

Our client reported the encounter to his command four days after he learned the video had been posted, providing the San Diego Police Department case number and invoking his right to remain silent.

Our client retained Bilecki shortly after the report, before the Navy had built its internal investigation file.

The defense filed a takedown request against YouTube on the recorded encounter. The takedown was granted. The video came down.

The defense raised potential civil claims with the operator concerning the recording and its distribution. The vigilante had been running the operation for views and ad revenue, not for prosecution. The defense challenged the operator’s assumption that recording and publicizing the encounter carried no legal risk. The vigilante's willingness to cooperate with the Navy's internal investigation collapsed once his own civil exposure was on the table.

The vigilante was the only witness. His withdrawal weakened the Government’s ability to present the encounter, and the case resolved through NJP and administrative separation.

We negotiated the General (Under Honorable Conditions) cap onto the face of the AdSep notice with the legal officer pre-issuance. Other Than Honorable was off the table from issuance, not from board litigation.

Our client accepted Article 15 non-judicial punishment in lieu of trial by court martial. Administrative separation processed under the General (Under Honorable Conditions) cap. No court martial referral. No federal conviction. No SORNA. No state court prosecution.

Result: Court martial avoided. NJP. AdSep at General (UHC). No federal conviction. No SORNA. No state prosecution.

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FAQ

Q: What did taking down the video accomplish?
It removed the public YouTube posting and addressed the immediate harm of having the encounter circulated online. It did not erase copies or make the recording automatically inadmissible. Separately, the defense raised potential civil claims with the operator, whose subsequent refusal to cooperate weakened the prosecution’s ability to present the encounter.

Q: How did Bilecki protect the discharge characterization?
We negotiated with the Navy’s legal officer before the administrative separation notice issued. The notice limited the least favorable characterization to General under Honorable Conditions. Our client still received NJP and was separated, but the case ended without an OTH discharge or a court-martial conviction.