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Will the Army discharge or court martial me?

Asked over 2 years ago - Knoxville, TN

What actions will the Army take for a officer that has been charged with a felony, but received a pretrial diversion??

The charge was exploitation of a minor and we settled on a pretrial diversion with no plea entered. No child porn involved; I exposed myself in a chat room. My computer was never confiscated and I had forensics run to illustrate I had no child porn, etc... The District Attorney wants me to stay in the army. So what do you think?

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Attorney answers (2)

Stephen Hayes Carpenter JR

Reputation Level 9

Answered over 2 years ago. Military Law Attorney in Seattle, WA.

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It all depends on your chain of command. Hopefully, they'll look the other way and allow the diversion rehab process to simply take its course. If not, you could most likely receive an article 15 and then later be separated for misconduct. So be on your best behavior. Focus on completing your diversion, and moving on with your life. I would also, if you have not already, speak with your local trial defense (TDS) counsel. Good luck.

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Timothy James Bilecki

Reputation Level 9

Answered about 2 years ago. Criminal Defense Attorney in Honolulu, HI.

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Typically if federal matters are handled by the US Attorney's office, they are not prosecuted under the UCMJ. This is not a hard and fast rule, but what I have seen over the years. In addition, the military prosecutors are typically fairly inexperienced and may have trouble proving you guilty on a charge like that. Without a confession or other specific computer forensic evidence, it very hard to prove. Your best bet now to to ensure you comply with the terms of the PTD and not make any specific statements to anyone but counsel on the case. As mentioned already, you can also see the local Trial Defense Services (TDS) on post who can give you the Vanilla suspect rights brief - basically telling you to finish the PTD and not talk about it with anyone.

If you have specific questions regarding the computer forensics portion of the case, please let me know, I seem to have tried more then my fair share of these (chat room / limewire / cp./etc.) types of case.

Thanks

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