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Timothy James Bilecki's Legal Cases (543)

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Military law

Bilecki Walks Eight-Specification Article 80 / 82 / 134 Undercover ICAC Kik GCM at Fort Moore to Plea on a Single Specification

Nov 10, 2023

OUTCOME: Plea on 1 specification. 7 specs dismissed (including Article 82 CSAM solicitation and Article 80 attempted sexual assault of a child). 4-16 months confinement cap. BCD in lieu of mandatory Dishonorable Discharge.

This was an Army Staff Sergeant facing a referred general court martial with eight specifications across three Articles arising from an undercover Army CID Kik chat operation. Maximum exposure on convi ... ction as charged ran into decades of confinement, federal felony record, mandatory dishonorable discharge, and federal sex offender registration tier exposure on both the Article 80 sexual abuse / assault of a child specifications and the Article 82 CSAM solicitation specification. The Government's case rested on the chat record and the meet attempt. The case was referred to general court martial in summer 2023. Our client retained Bilecki pre-referral. CID had run the undercover Kik profile out of an ICAC training event in December 2022. The original "onboarding" chats from that event, the records that would have shown predisposition or absence of predisposition before the charged February to March 2023 conduct, had not been preserved by CID. The defense filed R.C.M. 405(k) supplemental matters at the Article 32 grounded in entrapment / lack of predisposition on that missing-record predicate, mistake of fact as to age based on the ambiguous age representations within the preserved chat record, defective Article 32 on late discovery production, and overbroad M.R.E. 404(b) propensity proffers. The entrapment-on-missing-records argument combined with the mistake-of-fact-as-to-age argument carried the plea negotiation. Tim Bilecki traveled to Fort Moore, Georgia for the trial. Our client pleaded guilty to one specification: attempted sexual abuse of a child involving sexual contact (the meet attempt itself). The Convening Authority dismissed the remaining seven specifications without prejudice, ripening into prejudice on completion of appellate review. The Article 82 solicitation of child pornography specification was dismissed. The Article 80 attempted sexual assault of a child specification was dismissed. The Article 80 attempted receipt of child pornography specification was dismissed. Both Article 134 indecent language specifications were dismissed. The remaining Article 80 attempted sexual abuse / indecent communication specifications were dismissed. For an Army Staff Sergeant on an eight-specification general court martial charge sheet built on an undercover ICAC Kik operation, with mandatory dishonorable discharge exposure on conviction, decades of confinement on the line, and federal sex offender registration tier exposure on both the Article 80 sexual abuse / assault and the Article 82 CSAM solicitation tracks, the Article 82 CSAM solicitation conviction, the Article 80 attempted sexual assault of a child conviction, and the mandatory Dishonorable Discharge were the actual exposure. None of them survived the plea.

Military law

Bilecki Wins Chapter 10 Approval Day Before Article 120 GCM Trial at Camp Humphreys

Nov 10, 2023

OUTCOME: Chapter 10 approved day before trial. All Article 120 charges dismissed. OTH discharge, reduction to E-1. No federal conviction. No SORNA.

This was an Army Corporal facing a referred general court martial in Korea on two specifications of Article 120 abusive sexual contact. Maximum exposure on conviction: years of confinement, mandatory d ... ishonorable discharge, federal sex offender registration, and federal felony record. The Government alleged that on a June 2022 night at a hotel in Daegu, our client touched the buttocks of a fellow Soldier (same rank, sharing a hotel room on a personal trip) first with his hand and then with his penis, by moving the alleged victim's underwear aside while she feigned sleep. The defense theory was a he-said-she-said allegation contradicted by the physical evidence. A retained defense DNA expert pushed the alleged victim's underwear, turned in unwashed, to the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory. The lab report came back negative for our client. No spermatozoa. No foreign DNA profile. The only DNA recovered on the underwear was the alleged victim's own. There was no physical evidence supporting either alleged contact. Defense litigated the case toward trial. Defense filed motions on M.R.E. 412 (alleged victim's motivation to fabricate), motions to compel discovery and digital forensic expert production, and a motion in limine to exclude Government Article 404(b) notice. Trial was set for early November 2023 at Camp Humphreys. Tim Bilecki traveled to Camp Humphreys, Korea for the trial. The day before trial, the Convening General approved a Chapter 10 Request for Discharge in Lieu of Trial by Court-Martial. The general court martial was over. All Article 120 charges and specifications were dismissed effective on the date of separation. Our client received an Other Than Honorable Conditions characterization, reduction to E-1, and was separated within ten days. For an Army Corporal at Camp Humphreys facing a referred general court martial on two specifications of Article 120 abusive sexual contact with mandatory dishonorable discharge exposure, federal sex offender registration on conviction, and a federal felony record on the line, the Article 120 conviction track and SORNA registration were the actual exposure. Neither materialized. The Other Than Honorable characterization is the floor.

Military law

October 2023

Oct 27, 2023

OUTCOME: No Basis at BOI for all sexual related allegations. No Basis at FEB, recommendation to fully restore flight status.

At times, the military justice system and fickle commands can’t get out of their own way and wind up losing top talent in the process. Such was the case for a 16-year veteran of the U.S. Army who serve ... d as a pilot while stationed in Germany. He was facing charges of possession and distribution of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), conduct unbecoming an officer and attempted sexual assault of a minor. Now, we are often asked why we take on cases where such serious charges of crimes against children are involved. One, our justice system depends on every defendant receiving a competent defense. That’s just how justice works. Second, we know that when it comes to the military justice system, such charges are rarely as they seem. In this case, a German national accused him of inappropriate communications on Kik Messenger. The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) got involved, but they struggled to obtain any proper evidence which proved our client was involved. The evidence used were primarily screenshots which lacked conclusive identification and CID was unable to acquire the subscriber information from Kik. Responding to these allegations, our client retained Bilecki who immediately went to work with his own digital forensic investigation. It became clear early on that our client was the victim of a blackmail operation. Doubts over the authenticity of the screenshots emerged and the accuser’s credibility further eroded the case. Unfortunately, the military justice system was on the prowl, and they were going to make an example out of this Soldier one way or the other. Without enough evidence to pursue a court martial, a General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand (GOMOR) was issued. We argued with vigor via a lengthy GOMOR rebuttal, but it became clear that the command had already made up its mind. They filed the GOMOR permanently, but not before we ensured critical modifications to the allegations were included. The case then proceeded to a Board of Inquiry (BOI) where after a 15-hour battle with Bilecki, the board found no basis for all the most serious misconduct charges, except for a single inappropriate image sent by our client. Showing once again that the command had it out for our client, they recommend service separation based on this singular offense. Highlighting even more the fickle and capricious nature of the case, the command was still not satisfied with the BOI’s findings. While awaiting Human Resources Command approval, the command went after his flight status and initiated a flight evaluation board against him for the same alleged misconduct. Bilecki once again went to war for our client and the flight evaluation board concluded as we originally knew that our client did not commit the alleged misconduct and recommended reinstatement of his flight credentials. At this point, our client was fed up with the bullshit the Army had just put him through and chose to leave the Army for a career in commercial aviation. Because of this command’s oppressive campaign against our client, the Army is one more pilot short and the civilian aviation industry just gained one hell of a pilot.

Military law

Bilecki Wins AdSep Board Full Retention with Both Allegations Not Supported on Army Reserve SGT at Fort Meade

Oct 27, 2023

OUTCOME: Both allegations not supported at AdSep Board. Full retention. GOMOR later removed by DASEB. No separation. No AMHRR filing.

This was an Army Reserve Sergeant facing an administrative separation board on two allegations from a 2019 incident in Korea. The Government's recommended characterization was Other Than Honorable. A s ... eparation with that characterization would have ended her Reserve career. The Government alleged that in summer 2019 in Korea, our client had drawn an Air Force Lieutenant Colonel to a residence where her then-boyfriend, an Army Captain, recorded a video of him assaulting the LTC. The Government further alleged that, two weeks later, our client had attempted to extort $35,000 from the LTC via a donor solicitation letter from a non-profit she had founded. The letter requested a $35,000 contribution in $5,000 installments and included a screenshot of the slap video and a Facebook image of the LTC's family. The Captain had taped the envelope to the LTC's apartment door at her direction. Her Reserve Command had issued a GOMOR on these facts in late 2021 and filed it permanently in the AMHRR. An AGR active duty opportunity she had been selected for was rescinded as a result. The AdSep Board referral followed in late 2022 with the OTH recommendation. Our client retained Mr. Tim Bilecki and Mr. Ben Gold to represent her at the Board. The CID investigation had found no fingerprints from our client or the Captain on the donor letter or the envelope. The only prints recovered were the LTC's. CID had been denied magistrate authorization to seize our client's personal laptop. The Captain had been tried separately at general court martial for conspiracy and attempted extortion arising from the same alleged scheme; a panel of senior officers had acquitted him on both, convicting only of the slap itself. The 2d Infantry Division Commanding General had granted our client testimonial immunity under R.C.M. 704 to testify in the Captain's general court martial, and our client had testified. The LTC himself had been investigated by AFOSI for abusive sexual contact arising from the underlying bar incident and received a Letter of Reprimand; in his rebuttal to that LOR, he had denied any sexual interest in our client, contradicting his own CID interview admission that he had intended to have sex with her. The CID Special Agent who ran the file would tell the Board on cross examination that she did not trust the LTC's interview statement. Tim Bilecki traveled to Fort Meade, Maryland for the two-day Administrative Separation Board. The Board convened in October 2023. The defense objected to the Government's CID Investigation exhibit on hearsay grounds, and the Recorder withdrew Bates 39–64 from the exhibit. Defense cross of the CID Special Agent put the forensic gap and the LTC's credibility issues in front of the Board. Defense character witnesses across our client's career put her record in front of the Board. Our client gave an unsworn statement. Defense work continued on the GOMOR after the Board. The Department of the Army Suitability Evaluation Board removed the GOMOR from the AMHRR.

Military law

Bilecki Closes AR 15-6 Five-Allegation Misconduct Investigation on Florida ARNG Senior Recruiting NCO at NJP

Oct 13, 2023

OUTCOME: Field Grade Article 15 NJP imposed. No court martial. No officer elimination. No GOMOR. No Show Cause Board.

A Florida Army National Guard Sergeant First Class assigned as a senior recruiting NCO was sitting under an AR 15-6 administrative investigation across five categories of alleged misconduct accumulated ... from several events over two and a half years. The government's allegations covered a March 2023 mid-year training event, a February 2022 SMAG III Conference in Puerto Rico, an unspecified-date slap of a Second Lieutenant, a March 2021 mid-year training horseplay incident, and an unspecified Recruiting and Retention NCO sexual harassment allegation. The Government alleged that during the March 2023 training, our client had used racial slurs toward a subordinate Staff Sergeant, threatened to slit the same Staff Sergeant's throat, brought a personally owned pistol into a club and concealed it in his sock to attempt re-entry, and engaged in alcohol-fueled disorderly conduct. On mitigation, our client had completed substance abuse counseling at a civilian Cohen Military Family Clinic, which discharged him in May 2023 with a documented prognosis of "exceptionally high" and an opinion of no impairment of judgment, reliability, or trustworthiness. Senior NCO character support went into the package. Our client retained Bilecki during the AR 15-6 investigation, before the Investigating Officer's findings memo went up. The matter resolved at non-judicial punishment. The Battalion Commander imposed a Field Grade Article 15 in October 2023 at Saint Francis Barracks, St. Augustine. No court martial referral. No officer elimination action. No GOMOR. No Show Cause Board.

Military law

Bilecki Wins Local Filing of Domestic Violence GOMOR for Army Warrant Officer at Camp Humphreys

Oct 06, 2023

OUTCOME: GOMOR filed locally only. No permanent AMHRR filing. No court martial. No NJP. No officer elimination.

An Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 at Camp Humphreys was facing a 2d Infantry Division Commanding General GOMOR alleging Article 128b domestic violence and Article 134 extramarital sexual conduct against ... his spouse. The CG's stated intent on the GOMOR was permanent filing in the AMHRR. CID had titled four offenses on the Final Law Enforcement Report. Trial counsel had opined probable cause. The defense investigation recovered the spouse's own contemporaneous record. iCloud backups produced the spouse's own infidelity videos and text records, going back through the relationship. A Navy Federal statement showed the spouse's unilateral $1,500 withdrawal from the joint account days after the alleged incident. The documentation surfaced the spouse's anger management therapy under a named clinical psychologist, with the timeline showing she was a current patient at the time of the alleged conduct. Photos preserved a 2021 prior incident in which the spouse had smashed our client's phone. A January 2023 text from the spouse referenced our client's separate move-out from the family quarters that month. Our client retained Bilecki after the GOMOR was served, with the seven day rebuttal window already running. We submitted the GOMOR Rebuttal Matters memo in mid-October 2023 with thirteen enclosures. The rebuttal walked the CG through the self defense framework, the absence of any service nexus or unit-discipline harm on the alleged extramarital conduct, and the documented motive context. Career documentation went into the package. A senior chaplain's character letter went in. Character letters from multiple peer warrant officers and senior NCOs across our client's twelve year career went in. The Convening General directed local filing in the Military Personnel Records Jacket only. No permanent AMHRR filing. No court martial referral. No NJP. No officer elimination action.

Military law

Army Specialist's THC Drug Case Ends at Article 15; No Federal Conviction

Sep 29, 2023

OUTCOME: Field Grade Article 15 imposed. Reduction to E-2. No court martial. No federal conviction.

This was an Army Specialist at Tower Barracks, Grafenwoehr facing court martial referral on Article 92 wrongful use of THC-8 and Article 112a wrongful use of THC-9. Maximum exposure if the case moved t ... o court martial: years of confinement on the Article 112a specification, federal felony record, and a Dishonorable Discharge. The Government's case was a single inspection-random urinalysis from late March 2023 that returned positive for both Delta-8 and Delta-9 metabolites. The Navy Drug Testing Laboratory at Jacksonville Naval Station certified the result. The Army Substance Abuse Program notified the unit Military Police; an MP blotter opened the same day; an ASAP / SUDCC referral followed. Our client retained Bilecki the day the MP blotter opened, before the unit had completed its investigation file. The defense theory was AR 600-85 paragraph 4-2(l)(9)(a). Delta-8 hemp derived products were commercially available and federally legal at the time. The military urinalysis panel could not distinguish between Delta-8 and Delta-9 ingestion because both produce the same THC-COOH metabolite. A positive result on the panel proved ingestion of a substance that produced the metabolite. It did not, by itself, prove ingestion of a controlled substance. We put the AR 600-85 honest-and-reasonable framework, the Delta-8 product line distinction, and our client's record in front of the Battalion Commander before charges were preferred. The matter resolved at non-judicial punishment. The Battalion Commander imposed a Field Grade Article 15 in late September 2023. Punishment included a reduction one grade from E-4 to E-2. No court martial was preferred. No federal conviction. For an Army Specialist at Tower Barracks facing a referred court martial track on UCMJ Article 112a wrongful use of a controlled substance with Dishonorable Discharge exposure on conviction, federal felony exposure, and years of confinement on the line, the federal felony conviction at court martial and the Dishonorable Discharge were the actual exposure. Neither materialized.

Military law

Bilecki Closes Article 120 Sexual Assault Investigation on Army Staff Sergeant at Fort Carson Pre-Preferral

Sep 01, 2023

OUTCOME: No charges preferred. No NJP. No GOMOR. No administrative separation. Matter closed pre-preferral.

This was an Army Staff Sergeant at Fort Carson under an active Army investigation for Article 120 sexual assault. A referred Article 120 charge sheet against an E-6 carries decades of confinement, mand ... atory dishonorable discharge, federal sex offender registration, and the federal felony record that ends a career. Our client retained Bilecki at the investigation stage, before any charges were preferred. The matter closed pre-preferral. No charges. No NJP. No GOMOR. No administrative separation. For an Army Staff Sergeant at Fort Carson with a referred Article 120 court martial track that carried mandatory dishonorable discharge exposure on conviction, federal felony record, and lifetime federal sex offender registration on the line, the Article 120 conviction track and the SORNA registration were the actual exposure. Neither materialized.

Military law

Bilecki Closes Article 134 Fraternization and Extramarital Conduct Investigation on Field Artillery 1LT at JBLM

Sep 01, 2023

OUTCOME: No charges. No GOMOR. No officer elimination. No Show Cause Board. Officer continued in service.

This was a Field Artillery First Lieutenant at JBLM under an active Army investigation for Article 134 fraternization and Article 134 extramarital sexual conduct. For an O-1 in his first tour, a substa ... ntiated fraternization or extramarital conduct allegation routes one of three ways. GOMOR with permanent OMPF filing. AR 600-8-24 officer elimination action. Show Cause Board. Each one ends an officer's commission. Our client retained Bilecki the same day the Rights Warning issued. We walked the chain through the husband's threat record alongside the report. We put the origin of the report in front of the chain instead of letting the report stand on its own. The defense package included three top block OERs across the prior duty stations and character letters from a peer Lieutenant, a Captain, a senior NCO from our client's section, and a retired senior officer from the broader community. The matter resolved at the investigation level. No charges were preferred. No GOMOR. No AR 600-8-24 officer elimination. No Show Cause Board. Our client continued in service. For an Army O-1 in his first tour with a Rights Warning issued and a husband running a coercion play through the chain of command, the GOMOR / officer elimination / Show Cause Board cascade that follows a substantiated fraternization or extramarital conduct allegation against an officer was the actual exposure. None of it materialized.

Military law

Okinawa Online Enticement and CSAM Case Cut From 13 Specifications to 2 Convictions; 36 Months Confinement

Aug 25, 2023

OUTCOME: Eleven of thirteen specifications withdrawn at plea. 36 months confinement. Mandatory Dishonorable Discharge. Reduction to E-1. Total forfeitures.

A young Marine stationed at Camp Hansen faced a serious online enticement and CSAM case built through the same pattern we see in many Okinawa cases: apps, online chats, screenshots, undercover personas ... , and a charge sheet that grew fast. Our client used SpotAFriend to connect with teenage girls, then moved the conversations to Snapchat. One of those conversations led to a real-world meeting. Our client traveled off Okinawa, met a teenage girl, had sex with her, recorded the encounter, and later sent the video. That conduct became the core of the Article 134 production and distribution charges. NCIS and the Government built the case in two directions. One side was the real-world production and distribution conduct. The other side was the online enticement case built from chats, screenshots, and alleged communications with undercover or online personas. These Okinawa online enticement cases often look like a military version of "To Catch a Predator." They can raise entrapment, predisposition, mistake as to age, substantial step, and charge stacking issues. They also give the Government a way to turn one investigation into multiple Article 80 attempted sexual abuse specifications. Bilecki was retained at preferral in March 2023 while our client was in pretrial confinement at the Camp Hansen Brig. The first defense move was to break the case apart. The thirteen specification charge sheet was not one indivisible case. It was two different kinds of cases stacked together: the NCIS online enticement allegations, and the real-world Article 134 production and distribution allegations. Bilecki negotiated a plea agreement that stripped the online enticement case out of the conviction record. All ten Article 80 specifications were withdrawn at plea. The Article 134 possession specification was also withdrawn. Those eleven withdrawn specifications were set to become dismissed with prejudice after appellate review. The case that remained for sentencing was two Article 134 specifications: production from the real-world encounter and distribution after our client returned to Okinawa. Tim Bilecki traveled to Okinawa for the contested sentencing hearing. The Government still wanted the Military Judge to sentence the case through the full charging theory, including the withdrawn online enticement specifications. The defense fought to keep the sentencing case focused on what remained after the plea: production and distribution, not a thirteen specification conviction record. Bilecki cross examined the lead NCIS agent on that distinction. The defense also presented family testimony by phone, our client's unsworn statement, and mitigation evidence explaining his background, childhood trauma, sexual abuse history, mental health issues, and need for treatment. The unsworn statement did not excuse the conduct. It accepted responsibility and apologized to the victim. The case started as a thirteen specification General Court-Martial with more than 200 years of theoretical exposure. The final conviction record had two specifications. Eleven specifications were withdrawn at plea. The sentence was 36 months.