Over 500+ Successful Court Cases & Counting: See Reviews ➔
500+ Successful Court Cases & Counting: See Reviews ➔
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October 2022
Tim Bilecki

Case Result: Air Force Cadet Defense

Sexual Assault, Obstruction of Justice, Conduct Unbecoming an Officer, Wrongful Broadcast under Article 120(c)
Air Force Academy, Colorado
Air Force Cadet,0-1
No charges were preferred, and the case was resolved at Non-Judicial Punishment (NJP)

The United States military is right to hold their future officers to high standards and yet, we must also remember that cadets at various military academies are the same age as your average college student. They are under immense pressure and it is not uncommon for these young adults to seek release from that stress in various ways.

Our next client had the option of taking a long walk or perhaps hitting the gym, but he opted for group sex with fellow cadets to relieve the stress. Now, we’re not judging his choice; however, anytime you enter into “group” anything you open yourself up to the actions of others adversely affecting your life and career.

Such was the case for An Air Force Cadet who was now facing multiple charges of sexual assault, obstruction of justice, conduct unbecoming and wrongful broadcast under Article 120(c). The night began with multiple cadets securing a hotel room and copious amounts of alcohol for some group “relaxation.” The night devolved into intimate encounters and at some point in the evening, our client made a Snapchat video of the consensual activity taking place in the room. He shared the video with the other cadets in the room and went to sleep that night thinking that he had just made the memory of a lifetime.

Unfortunately for our client, another cadet decided to submit his nomination for Blue Falcon of the year and uploaded the video to other sources. That cadet’s actions resulted in the widespread distribution of the video at the school and subsequent allegations of sexual assault against the involved cadets.

Once our client was given formal notice of the various allegations, he quickly and smartly retained sexual assault defense lawyer Bilecki to go to war on his behalf. Bilecki conducted his own comprehensive investigation which included a deep dive into the digital forensics at play. Bilecki was able to demonstrate that the female cadet involved had consented, not only to the sexual acts, but also to the recording. We highlighted that our client was under the impression that the video would auto-delete after it was viewed by the participants and his integrity was on display by admitting what he did.

Meanwhile, we tore the cadet who shared the video and didn’t hire us a new one in front of his command and prosecutors. We made clear who was the real culprit and who put the careers of every cadet involved in jeopardy. The result for our client was that charges were not preferred and the issue was handled at the nonjudicial punishment (NJP) level. It was a close call as the young cadet was on the verge of having his newly minted military career destroyed right from the start. Now, he gets to carry on with his life and take one hell of a memory with him.

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