Army | E-4 | CSAM | All Evidence Suppressed | No UCMJ Action | No Sex Offender Registration
Our client was accused of using X to obtain and distribute child sexual abuse material. Multiple law enforcement agencies were involved, including foreign authorities. The evidence of guilt was substantial. What we identified early was that the prosecution had built its case around an expected guilty plea and hadn’t done the work to get its evidence admitted at trial. They didn’t understand the rules of evidence well enough. We did. Through timely objections at trial we kept everything out. As the prosecution’s case collapsed, they offered a series of deals of descending severity. Our client eventually accepted an administrative discharge with a General characterization. No court-martial conviction. No reprimand. No sex offender registration.
Army | E-4 | CSAM | Acquitted | No Sex Offender Registration
Our client was accused of possessing and distributing a large volume of child sexual abuse material. CID obtained a confession during the search and seizure. The prosecution refused to offer a reasonable plea deal, so we went to trial. We had identified that the government hadn’t done what was necessary to get its evidence admitted, and our objections kept it out. When the prosecution pivoted to its expert witness, we had done our homework — the expert hadn’t actually reviewed the contraband. He had taken trial counsel’s and CID’s word that the right material was on the disks. We objected. The court agreed. That avenue closed too. Our client was acquitted. No conviction. No sex offender registration.
Army | E-5 | CSAM | Federal Case Avoided | Expedited Resolution
Our client was under investigation by both CID and Homeland Security for child sexual abuse material. Federal sentencing exposure dwarfed what the military justice system was likely to impose. We used our relationship with OSTC to persuade them to take the case, with Homeland agreeing to stand down on the assurance that our client would cooperate and move the case efficiently. He did. The case resolved quickly, with a light sentence. He returned home to his family.
Air Force | E-4 | CSAM | Federal Case Avoided | Charges Reduced
Our client was under investigation by both OSI and Homeland Security. We persuaded OSTC to take the case, assuring Homeland that our client was prepared to accept responsibility and move quickly. We secured a low sentence and then negotiated the charges down from receipt, distribution, and viewing to viewing only, a meaningful distinction, since viewing is not expressly or analogously listed as a sex offense in many state statutes. That left our client with realistic prospects of avoiding sex offender registration depending on where he chose to settle after separation.
Air Force | Enlisted | CSAM | Acquitted of Nearly All Charges | Two Months Confinement
Command and trial counsel called it the largest child pornography case they had ever encountered, alleging our client possessed thousands of contraband images and videos. We retained a computer forensic expert and attacked the government’s analysis methodically. Our client was acquitted of possession of all but a handful of images, which the evidence showed had been downloaded accidentally during a large file transfer. He was sentenced to two months confinement for a technical violation. No sex offender registration.
Air Force | Officer | CSAM | Two Months Confinement
Our client faced allegations of possessing a large volume of child pornography across multiple drives and devices. We retained a forensic expert and dismantled the government’s case, reducing the evidence in play to a small number of images. The government had refused to discuss a reasonable resolution. On the eve of trial they offered a two-month cap. Our client accepted, sparing him the two-year sentence the court would otherwise have imposed.
Air Force | E-3 | CSAM | No Confinement
Our client was charged with possession of child pornography discovered during a dormitory inspection. He had confessed. We put on a vigorous defense at trial and a strong mitigation case at sentencing. He received a Bad Conduct Discharge and reduction in rank. No confinement.
Army | Enlisted | Indecent Language to a Minor | Not Guilty | No Sex Offender Registration
Our client was charged with communicating indecent language to a minor while deployed. Not guilty of the sex offense. Sex offender registration avoided.
Coast Guard | Enlisted | CSAM | Special Court-Martial | Four Months Confinement
The government sought a general court-martial, which would have meant a felony-level conviction and up to years in confinement. Through sustained negotiation we persuaded the government to bring the case to a special court-martial instead, capping potential confinement at one year and avoiding a felony conviction. We presented our client’s background, family support, and rehabilitation plan. The judge sentenced him to four months.
Army | NCO | CSAM | Charges Dropped | No NJP
A reservist NCO was recalled to active duty to face charges stemming from child pornography found on an external hard drive during a deployment to Iraq. We attacked the case at the Article 32 hearing, conducted our own investigation, and cross-examined the government’s computer analyst thoroughly enough to establish that the government could not prove our client knew the contraband was on his drive. After the hearing, the government offered to drop the court-martial in exchange for nonjudicial punishment. We declined. The Army dropped the case entirely.
Army | NCO | CSAM | Acquitted | Honorable Retirement
A senior NCO and former first sergeant with nineteen years of service was accused of child pornography possession. At court-martial we cross-examined the government’s forensic expert extensively, convincing the panel that the government had failed to prove knowing access or download. The panel acquitted. Our client served out his remaining year and retired honorably.
Army | E-6 | CSAM | Retirement and Benefits Preserved
Our client had twenty years of service and had confessed to knowingly downloading and viewing child pornography found on his home computer. We took the case to a jury and presented a comprehensive mitigation package at sentencing. The panel returned a sentence of thirty days confinement and reduction of two grades. Our client retained enough time in grade to retire with full benefits.
Navy | Enlisted | CSAM | Court-Martial Dropped | Separation Without Conviction
Our client faced a general court-martial on child pornography charges alongside counts of AWOL, missing movement, and false official statement. He had signed statements linking him to the contraband. We argued successfully that investigators had conducted an illegal search of his computer. The judge suppressed all child pornography evidence. The government dropped the court-martial entirely and allowed our client to separate without criminal prosecution on any of the remaining charges.
Marine Corps | E-3 | CSAM | Case Dropped | No Sex Offender Registration
Our client, a 20-year-old Marine, was accused of exchanging illicit files with a minor. Our investigation revealed the minor was his 17-year-old girlfriend from home. We contacted OSTC immediately and framed it for what it was: a Romeo and Juliet situation, not a case warranting felony prosecution and lifetime sex offender registration. Over several months of negotiation with multiple OSTC counsel, we also gave our client time to demonstrate his value to his unit. The case was dropped.