Posted: Jan 23, 2021 9:56 pm
I mentioned in another topic, some experience I have had with military justice in the US armed forces. For your amusement, this happened in Texas:
Some months before I was posted to Laughlin AFB, Texas, one of the base computer network techs noted some constant notifications from the new base network firewall. It turned out those notifications were because one of the base's computer users, an airman working in the base clinic, was busy surfing for child pornography at work. Using the government computer. The network guys notified law enforcement, who promptly marched to this guy's office and caught him with his pants down. Actually down. Yep, child porn. They got a warrant to search his home computer, same thing. Busted, big time.
I came into this story when I was asked to be the technical expert for the defense counsel. Well, I did it. For the life of me, I couldn't see how in the hell this was going to turn out any other way than prison.
What the defense counsel needed was someone to review the forensic techniques the investigators used. I interviewed the special agent in charge of the technical investigation and yes, she was doing it right. The defense counsel was a captain and a lieutenant. Lawyers, who knew nothing about computers or hard drives, etc. That's why they asked for me.
So, I sat through the entire court martial. I saw every image that bastard found. And, I can tell you, there is some fucked up shit out there, having seen that. It really was a tight case. This airman was fucked.
I remember asking the defense lawyers what motivates them. The defense counsel is almost certain to lose a court martial. The government tends not to even try cases they cannot win. So, if it goes to court martial, the conclusion is pretty predictable. How do you come to work and do it right, knowing perfectly well you're going to get your ass kicked?
The kid got sent to Leavenworth for four years confinement.
Back to the defense counsel motivation. We spoke after the court martial, of course. That airman could have been sent away for decades. They got him four years confinement instead. So, that's a pretty big win. But more importantly, the Area Defense Counsel exists to force the government to prove their cases.
I was glad to have been a part of it.
Some months before I was posted to Laughlin AFB, Texas, one of the base computer network techs noted some constant notifications from the new base network firewall. It turned out those notifications were because one of the base's computer users, an airman working in the base clinic, was busy surfing for child pornography at work. Using the government computer. The network guys notified law enforcement, who promptly marched to this guy's office and caught him with his pants down. Actually down. Yep, child porn. They got a warrant to search his home computer, same thing. Busted, big time.
I came into this story when I was asked to be the technical expert for the defense counsel. Well, I did it. For the life of me, I couldn't see how in the hell this was going to turn out any other way than prison.
What the defense counsel needed was someone to review the forensic techniques the investigators used. I interviewed the special agent in charge of the technical investigation and yes, she was doing it right. The defense counsel was a captain and a lieutenant. Lawyers, who knew nothing about computers or hard drives, etc. That's why they asked for me.
So, I sat through the entire court martial. I saw every image that bastard found. And, I can tell you, there is some fucked up shit out there, having seen that. It really was a tight case. This airman was fucked.
I remember asking the defense lawyers what motivates them. The defense counsel is almost certain to lose a court martial. The government tends not to even try cases they cannot win. So, if it goes to court martial, the conclusion is pretty predictable. How do you come to work and do it right, knowing perfectly well you're going to get your ass kicked?
The kid got sent to Leavenworth for four years confinement.
Back to the defense counsel motivation. We spoke after the court martial, of course. That airman could have been sent away for decades. They got him four years confinement instead. So, that's a pretty big win. But more importantly, the Area Defense Counsel exists to force the government to prove their cases.
I was glad to have been a part of it.