Out of the blue, our high-performing and well-respected TSgt client was brought into OSI and informed that he had been accused of rape by another Airman. This alleged rape occurred more than 14 years earlier when our client was an A1C stationed overseas. Despite the questionable nature of the accusation, the Air Force elected to prosecute the case to the fullest extent possible. Due to the length of time between the alleged assault and the reporting, the statute of limitations barred the government from pursuing a court-martial. Instead, the Air Force initiated administrative separation proceedings against our client, seeking a UOTHC service characterization. We filed a “motion” that even administrative separation processing was barred under the existing separations AFI since our client had re-enlisted numerous times since the alleged sexual assault. As a result, the government was forced to drop the separation processing. Coincidentally, a new separations DAFI was issued in June 2022 that permitted separation processing for events that occurred in previous enlistments. As such, the Air Force re-initiated administrative separation proceedings against our client and took him to a discharge board, where the burden of proof for the government is significantly lower than at a court-martial. At the board, the alleged victim testified that our client had sexually assaulted her 14 years earlier at a party in Germany. During our cross-examination, the defense highlighted the victim’s motives to fabricate back then (she was in relationship), her motives to fabricate now (she was applying for VA disability pay as a “victim”), and the significant inconsistencies in her story. RESULT: The board voted unanimously that our client had committed NO MISCONDUCT and RETAINED him in the Air Force.
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