Online Enticement Sting Operations

If you voluntarily went to a website on the dark web titled “Pedofiles R Us” and showed up at a 12-year-old’s house with a six-pack of beer, a teddy bear, and a box of condoms, then you are in trouble. As you should be. Unfortunately, that’s how NCIS, CID, and OSI like to portray every service member caught up in a sting, and nothing could be further from the truth.

Service members are being approached on social media, escort sites like List Crawler, and popular dating apps like Tinder, Bumble, Hinge, and Grindr. A relationship is cultivated, and because service members are often lonely and isolated from loved ones, they are remarkably susceptible to this approach. Undercover agents are then so aggressive that you’d think they really are hoping to score. Yet, the only thing they are interested in is destroying an otherwise good service member’s life.When facing charges from sting operations, there are critical defenses that can be employed to challenge the prosecution’s case. Two of the most common defenses are entrapment and mistake of fact as to age under the UCMJ.

Entrapment: This defense is pivotal when the suggestion to commit a criminal offense originates from a government agent, and the accused had no predisposition to commit the offense. In essence, entrapment occurs when law enforcement officials induce someone to commit a crime they would not have otherwise committed. For this defense to be successful, it must be shown that the government’s actions were the primary cause of the accused committing the crime, rather than any preexisting intent on the part of the accused. The defense must prove that the criminal conduct was the product of the inducements of law enforcement officials, not the accused’s own inclination or predisposition.

Mistake of Fact as to Age: Under the UCMJ, the defense of “mistake of fact” can be used if the accused honestly and reasonably believed that the person they were engaging with was of legal age, which is at least 16 years old. This defense requires demonstrating that the mistake regarding the person’s age was both honest and reasonable under the circumstances. The burden of proof lies with the accused to show that their belief about the person’s age was genuine and reasonable based on the available evidence. This can involve presenting evidence that the individual the service member was chatting with  misrepresented their age or behaved in a way that would lead a reasonable person to believe they were of legal age.

In defending against sting operation charges, it’s crucial to scrutinize the methods used by law enforcement. For entrapment, the focus will be on proving that the accused was not predisposed to commit the crime and that the government’s actions were unduly persuasive or coercive. For the mistake of fact defense, evidence must be elicited to show that the accused had a reasonable basis for believing the other party was of legal age.

Bilecki Racks Up The Wins Against Sting Operation Abuse

The prosecution’s tactics rarely change when it comes to cases that hinge on sting operations. They want you to think that the case is so ironclad that admitting guilt and taking your punishment like a good Soldier or Marine is your only option. They don’t want you to know that you can fight back and win. Just take a look at a few of our wins to see what’s possible.

Marine Warrant Officer: Full Acquittal! – This Warrant Officer was caught up in a sting operation in Okinawa, and the prosecution thought they had him dead to rights. Bilecki got into the fight and exposed the illegal tactics used by NCIS. The Warrant Officer thought he was meeting an adult because NCIS sent him pictures of an adult. NCIS also failed to maintain all of the text messages between the “chatter” and the accused. Not to mention, they may have intentionally deleted certain messages.

Navy Officer: Full Acquittal! – Bilecki fought for a Navy officer who was caught up in a sting operation where, again, NCIS deployed illegal tactics. They intentionally edited out portions of the officer’s statement to law enforcement, and, again, text message evidence went missing.

In another case, the NCIS Sailor used as bait actually asked the suspect for his phone number and later wound up sleeping with our client. Does that sound like someone who is legitimately worried the guy was a pedophile? Absolutely not, as NCIS, CID, and OSI know full well that they are entrapping otherwise good men and women. Take a look at our case results that seem to defy the odds. We fly anywhere in the world to defend and stand by our clients.