Nellis AFB - CC 57th OSS Arrested & Removed From Post

[RAFEngO74to09]

Commander of the 57th Operations Support Squadron arrested on 8 felony child sex charges and already removed from post.

Prior to his promotion to lt col he was Thunderbird 7 as the Operations Officer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCbU0DJ6GMY

[Asturias56]

Suggest we avoid commenting on this until there is more evidence or a trial :(

[rugmuncher]

Suggest we avoid commenting on this until there is more evidence or a trial :(
There was sufficient evidence to bring charges. Trial it is then.

[SASless]

Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).....the accused is considered INNOCENT until proven guilty in a Trial by Court Martial and has the same rights as to Due Process, Legal Counsel, and the ability to challenge the government's case.

He will have been informed of his Article 31 Rights (similar to the civilian Miranda rights) and at some point there shall be an Article 32 Proceeding....which is a Probable Cause Hearing where the Charges shall be levied and upon a finding requiring a Trial.....then a Court Proceeding will take place.

Asturias is entirely correct.....unless you are privy to all of the evidence and testimony.....you might just be overstepping to pass on his guilt and culpability.

If the offense was committed in a non-Military jurisdiction....local laws and procedures would apply.

Civilian authorities will sometimes transfer jurisdiction to the Military for prosecution for UCMJ violations.

[Lonewolf_50]

Speculation: this might be a collateral effect of a nasty divorce in progress and someone decided to raise the stakes. I say that based on some sad RL experience (saw this twice while in service) of similar kinds of charges brought forth as the separation/divorce got uglier ... which was more or less a tactic by a lawyer for one of the parties.
Might also be something worse.

[SASless]

The NIS (fore runner to the NCIS) ran a Child Porn Investigation that was initiated by Special Agent Bland Cologne (his parents must have. had a really odd sense of humor) called "The Dixie Cup Club" which was very successful in identifying and prosecuting sexual predators who preyed upon Children.

Though the numbers of active duty service members involved in such crimes was quite small....their connections to non-military individuals engaging in such misconduct was very productive which led to the Postal Inspectors then later the FBI getting involved.

Sadly. in those days....the Navy used to administratively discharge most individuals found culpable in child abuse....and sexual assaults on minors.

When the offenses occurred in areas where it was solely civilian or joint military/civilian jurisdictions NIS would work joint investigations but in almost every case the preferred prosecution method was by civilian courts and not the military system.

I worked one such investigation where the US Attorney's Office happily took on the case and the civilian defense lawyer convinced his client to plead guilty as his experience in State Court was such offenders got light sentences.

The Federal Judge slapped an eighteen year sentence on the Defendant and off to the Atlanta Federal Prison the guy went.....much to his surprise and dismay.

The local County DA was the one that suggested he would be glad to try the Case but indicated that the Federal Judge in the District would be a far better venue on a results basis.

Investigators can Judge shop as well as the Defense Attorney can sometimes.

Lone is quite correct about bogus complaints being made to complicate some divorce proceedings.....and a proper investigation should always ensure the complaint is legitimate as part of the investigative process.

There is hardly anything that can be more heart breaking than to determine the full extent of the abuse of a child....particularly by a family member.

Obtaining a full complete confession by a perpetrator of such a crime or series of crimes is both fulfilling and heart breaking at the same time.....and requires one to be at your best professional conduct so you can obtain a conviction in court and see justice done.