Marine Corps E-7 acquitted of sexual assault
Marine Corps E-7 facing general court-martial for serious sexual assault allegations and related misconduct. Complainant was a female NCO in the unit. Full acquittal on all sexual assault allegations. Convicted of only minor Article 92 violations. No sex offender registration, no jail time.
Army officer not guilty of sex offenses, retirement saved
Retirement-eligible Army field grade officer facing allegations of sexual assault against civilian base employee. Not guilty on all sexual assault offenses, no sex offender registration, and million-dollar retirement saved.
NCO acquitted of sexual assault
NCO with more than 10 years of service time charged with sexual assault. Full acquittal. Career saved.
Solider accused of communicating indecent language to a minor avoids sex offender registration
Soldier charged with communicating indecent language to a minor while deployed. Not guilty of sex offense. Sex offender registration avoided.
Soldier not guilty of sex offenses, avoids discharge and sex offender registration
Soldier accused of sexual assault, aiding and abetting sexual assault, and obstruction of justice. Not guilty of sex offenses. Discharge and sex offender registration avoided.
Air Force officer accused of sex offense avoids discharge and sex offender registration, retirement saved
Retirement eligible AF field grade officer facing general court-martial for housebreaking and related offenses. Million-dollar retirement saved.
Army NCO accused of sexual assault by force in the deployed location. Acquitted.
Gagne, Scherer & Associates performed a skillful cross-examination of the alleged victim, and followed up by introducing her prior records which contradicted the Government’s entire theory of the case as well as her previous testimony. Military panel of officer and enlisted members acquitted the member of all charges after less than 10 minutes of deliberations.
Air Force security forces NCO with an exemplary service record accused of sexual assault. Acquitted.
On the eve of trial, Gagne, Scherer & Associates located a key witness who contradicted a critical part of the alleged victim’s testimony. At trial, GSA executed a skillful cross-examination of the alleged victim, confronting her with numerous inconsistencies and the implausibility of her story. In addition to cross-examination of the alleged victim, GSA was able to use the testimony of several of the prosecution’s other witnesses to secure an acquittal from a panel of officers and senior NCOs.
Air Force security forces member accused of sexual assault. Charges withdrawn after Article 32 hearing.
Gagne, Scherer & Associates represented the member through an Article 32 investigation. GSA conducted a thorough investigation on the eve of the Article 32 hearing, leading to evidence that the alleged victim had made a prior false claim of sexual assault. GSA used its knowledge of cell phone and computer forensics, and OSI investigative methods, to uncover additional evidence highly favorable to the defense. The charges were withdrawn after the Article 32 investigation.
Sailor accused of sexual assault. Charges withdrawn after Article 32 hearing.
Gagne, Scherer & Associates represented the member through an Article 32 investigation. During the Article 32 hearing GSA’s expert cross-examination of the NCIS investigator showed that the investigation had been one-sided and incomplete. GSA’s cross-examination of the alleged victim revealed a serious mental health condition that had not been disclosed by the government. The charges were withdrawn after the Article 32 investigation.
Sailor accused of sexual assault. Charges withdrawn after Article 32 hearing.
Gagne, Scherer & Associates was retained to represent the sailor during the Article 32 investigation. In the wake of GSA’s aggressive preparation and scheduling of interviews of the government’s witnesses, including the alleged victim, the sexual assault charge was withdrawn.
Coast Guard member accused of sexual assault. Avoids sex offense conviction, will not have to register as a sex offender.
Gagne, Scherer & Associates represented the member at the Article 32 hearing and trial. During the Article 32 investigation GSA’s cross-examination of the investigator caused the investigating officer to doubt that our client’s alleged confession was obtained legally. Additionally, GSA presented evidence about the alleged victim’s alcohol consumption and own record of misconduct, which cast doubt on the reliability of her story. GSA’s sophisticated research and approach to negotiations resulted in the sexual assault allegations being withdrawn the day before trial. Ultimately, GSA was able to secure a deal for the member that allowed him to take responsibility for his own actions but avoid a conviction for a sex offense, thus ensuring that he wouldn’t have to register as a sex offender.
Air Force NCO charged with sexual assault, assault, housebreaking, and other offenses against his ex-wife. Avoids sex offense conviction, will not have to register as a sex offender.
Member was in pretrial confinement pending his court-martial. Gagne, Scherer & Associates were hired after the Article 32 hearing, and immediately began pretrial efforts to change the direction of the case. Skillful motion practice and negotiation resulted in the sexual assault allegations being withdrawn the morning of trial, saving client from possibility of having to register as a sex offender for life. GSA continued to fight throughout the sentencing case, resulting in our client being sentenced to little more than time served in pretrial confinement.
Marine acquitted of rape and forcible sodomy
A marine was charged at General Court-Martial with rape and forcible sodomy. GS&A was able to secure a full acquittal following a hard fought trial. Skilled cross-examination of alleged victim scored critical strike against Government’s case early in the trial. Detailed use of prior statements to impeach victim’s allegations was crucial to success of case. Skilled motion practice allowed us to use key evidence over Government objection. Innovative search of alleged victim’s social media background allowed us to impeach her testimony with photographs from her Facebook page. Result saved client from conviction, sex offender registration, and ensured Honorable discharge.
Soldier facing serious child abuse charges receives sentence of “no punishment”
Late one night, a young PFC found his step-daughter unresponsive and not breathing. He and his wife called 911 and the paramedics brought her to the hospital. Within hours, the government set its sights on the young PFC and he was soon facing allegations of child abuse. The PFC was investigated for attempted murder and rape of a child. GS&A attorneys vigorously defended against those allegations at an Article 32 hearing. The PFC was ultimately charged with the lesser offense of sexual contact under Article 120, two specifications of assault with a means likely to cause great bodily injury or death under Article 128, and one specification of unlawfully striking the child also under Article 128 based on an incident a year earlier. After a lengthy court-martial, the military judge dismissed the sexual contact and one of the assault allegations and the military jury acquitted the PFC of the other assault charge. The PFC was convicted of the unlawful striking that happened a year earlier but received a sentence of “no punishment” from the military jury.
Academy senior acquitted of rape charge, allowed to graduate
A military academy senior was charged with underage drinking, unlawfully entering a fellow cadet’s room, and raping her. The cadet’s family hired a civilian attorney for initial phase of the case, including the Article 32 hearing. However, after the Article 32 hearing and after being encouraged by the civilian attorney to offer to resign instead of fight the allegations, the cadet fired the attorney and hired Gagne, Scherer & Associates to represent him at trial. Our attorneys won a significant pretrial motion and then attacked the female cadet’s credibility during the trial, highlighting her numerous contradictions and the implausibility of her story. The jury found our client not guilty of the rape and unlawful entry. The convening authority resolved the underage drinking charge with nonjudicial punishment, and the cadet was allowed to graduate on time and receive his commission.
Soldier pleads guilty to indecent exposure, communicating indecent language and possessing child pornography, but receives only one year in jail and BCD
A Specialist pled guilty to several charges that stemmed from an online relationship with a 13-year-old. The soldier began corresponding with the child over email and eventually the conversations turned sexual. The relationship culminated when the soldier and the child exchanged pornographic images of each other which violated federal law and General Order No. 1B. Our attorneys aggressively objected to the government’s evidence, and won a number of significant objections. Consequently, the government’s sentencing case was extremely limited. Then, GS&A presented a compelling sentencing case which limited the soldier’s sentence to 12 months in jail, several years less than the government sought.
Numerous rape charges dropped against soldier facing life in jail
Army NCO charged with multiple counts of rape, forcible sodomy, aggravated assault and communicating a threat, exposed to possibility of life in confinement and sex offender registration at General Court-Martial. GS&A aggressively cross-examined the government’s witnesses at the Article 32 hearing and exposed numerous critical flaws in the government’s case. Pretrial pressure on the Government created potential speedy trial issue which GS&A leveraged into a pretrial agreement that dismissed all rape and sodomy charges and limited to confinement to a matter of months. Client released 7.5 months after beginning confinement and saved from sex offender registration.
Soldier facing life in prison avoids court altogether
A PFC was charged with multiple sexual offenses, conspiracy, and false official statement facing maximum punishment of life in confinement at general court-martial. Our aggressive cross-examination of the alleged victim at the Article 32 hearing, coupled with exhaustive pretrial motions, resulted in soldier avoiding trial altogether and being separated with a chapter 10. This result saved soldier from possibility of lengthy confinement, sex offender registration, federal conviction, and a dishonorable discharge.
Marine facing General Court Martial for Sex Offense avoids trial
A Marine NCO was charged with forcible sexual misconduct, adultery, and violation of lawful orders at General Court-Martial. Prior to trial, GS&A contacted the alleged victim and persuaded her to provide a recommendation for leniency on behalf of the Marine, which the defense used to persuade command to approve a separation in lieu of a court-martial, saving the Marine from the possibility of lengthy confinement, sex offender registration, federal conviction, and a dishonorable discharge.
20-year NCO acquitted of child molestation
A retirement-eligible NCO with 20 years of service was brought to court martial, accused of indecent acts and forcible sodomy with a minor. Based on our defense motion, the judge suppressed allegations from two complaining witnesses. The defense then convinced the jury that the remaining witness wasn’t believable, based on our thorough cross-examination of the witness as well as demonstrating to the juror that the witness was a liar. The jury returned a finding of not guilty and the NCO was able to retire honorably with no criminal record.
Airman acquitted of rape
A young enlisted member was charged with rape. He had made two written confessions, an oral confession, and was heard on tape confessing the rape to the alleged victim. Convinced that these were false confessions, we attacked the prosecution’s case at the pretrial hearing. Through our own investigation, we uncovered evidence that the member did not commit a rape. The court martial was dropped and the member avoided jail and a punitive discharge.
Airman charged with rape, GS&A attorneys get case dropped at pretrial hearing
An enlisted member was charged with rape for having sex with a female who was allegedly too drunk to give consent. At the pretrial hearing, we challenged the testimony of witnesses and the government’s toxicologist. Because of this, we persuaded the commander to drop the court martial. The alleged victim apologized to our client in court.
Airman acquitted of forcible rape and sodomy
An enlisted trainee was charged with forcible rape and sodomy of a female military member at local hotel. By using coercive tactics, investigators produced a sworn, typed confession from our client, and he was placed in confinement pending trial. Using the false confession theory, we showed that our client was forced into making a false confession. In addition, we were able to find weaknesses in the government’s case after carefully cross-examining the accuser and government expert witnesses during the court martial. Our client received a full acquittal – and we received feedback from the jury that they felt that the government was attempting to “railroad an innocent man.”
Airman accused of rape and adultery, GS&A attorneys get case dismissed
Airman, who was a lonely, single father faced rape allegations following a one-night consensual affair with a neighbor. We arranged a private polygraph of our client, which showed that he was not being deceptive in his version of events. Next, we showed the prosecution that the accuser’s actions were extremely inconsistent with what would be expected of a rape victim. After we recommended that the court martial be dismissed, the prosecutors dropped the case. Not only did we save our clients career, but he was promoted to E-4.