Marine’s Online Sting Case Resolved at NJP and General Discharge

Marine’s Online Sting Case Resolved at NJP and General Discharge

August 2024

Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay

Marine Corporal – E-4

Allegations: UCMJ Article 80 Attempted Sexual Assault of a Minor; UCMJ Article 80 Attempted Lewd Acts on a Minor; UCMJ Article 80 Attempted Indecent Communications with a Minor

Facts

This was a Marine Corporal at MCBH Kaneohe Bay caught up in an NCIS proactive online sting in which an undercover decoy posed as a minor. Maximum exposure on the three Article 80 attempt-against-a-minor specifications NCIS had built: a referred special court martial, federal felony record, a punitive discharge, and sex offender registration upon conviction of a qualifying offense.

The escort advertisement our client had responded to listed the provider's age as twenty-six. To open the ad, our client had to confirm he was over eighteen on the platform's verification page. The undercover agent's chat log only began dropping minor age representations after our client was already engaged with the ad.

Our client retained Bilecki the same week NCIS opened the investigation.

We pulled the screenshots of the ad, the age listed at twenty-six, and the verification page our client had cleared, and put all of it in front of the Squadron Commander before any charging decision. The Squadron Commander reviewed the package. He said he was prepared to refer the case to a special court martial on the original Article 80 attempt-against-a-minor specifications. He also offered a Disposition Agreement as an alternative.

The Disposition Agreement narrowed the case to a single Article 80 specification of attempted patronage of a prostitute and packaged a voluntary plea at NJP, a waiver of the administrative separation board, and acceptance of administrative separation. Our client accepted.

NJP imposed at Squadron Commander level on the single Article 80 attempt-to-patronize specification. Administrative separation processed under General (Under Honorable Conditions). No court martial. No federal conviction. No federal sex offender registration. No Tier III SORNA.

Result: NJP on single Article 80 attempt-to-patronize specification. AdSep at General (Under Honorable Conditions). No court martial. No federal conviction. No federal sex offender registration.

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FAQ

Q: Why did Bilecki obtain the original advertisement?
It listed the provider as twenty-six. The defense needed the commander to see how the conversation began, including the adult advertisement and the later statements about age. That sequence supported an argument about our client's belief and intent. The adult advertisement did not automatically defeat the allegations; the later communications also had to be assessed.

Q: What did the negotiated resolution require?
Our client accepted NJP for attempted patronage of a prostitute and waived an administrative separation board under the agreement. He received a General discharge. The matter did not produce a court-martial conviction or a sex offender registration obligation. Those consequences followed from the actual NJP disposition, rather than a supposed universal registration exemption for every offense with a similar name.