You’re a military service member accused of a sex crime. It doesn’t matter what service you are in—Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, or Coast Guard, military law enforcement like CID, NCIS, OSI, or CGIS are probably telling you they have a mountain of evidence to convict you at court martial. 

If convicted, you’re almost guaranteed to be a registered sex offender. Your name, your photo, and the sex crime you are found guilty of will be posted on the internet for all to see.   

Painfully, the primary purpose for sex offender registration is so your neighbors can protect their children and themselves from YOU. You are now labeled a sexual predator and deviant even if you are innocent, even if your accuser lied, even if the government’s evidence is weak. 

• Family, friends, teachers, employers, and law enforcement will be able to gawk at your name and photo on a sex offender list.

• Where you live becomes a nightmare. There are trailer parks specifically designed for sex offenders, far away from schools and playgrounds. If you have kids, they may feel the backlash.

• You can remain on a sex offender list for decades or life.

Being convicted of rape, sexual assault, or other sex crimes has the horrific effect of branding you a sexual predator, a pervert, and maybe even a child molester.

If you are innocent or the evidence makes it seem hopeless, fighting your charges—making the government prove your guilt—needs to be met with every ounce of strength you have if you want to avoid a conviction. But you shouldn’t do it alone.  

You need an experienced military attorney that has been fighting for service members facing sex crimes charges for years—and not just doing it as defense counsel, but as appellate defense counsel as well. If you seriously want to fight the sex crime you’re charged with, contact our office as soon as possible.

Sex offender registration can be debilitating. For some, it is worse than death. It has made service members homeless, financially ruined, and banned from their kids. Some abandon hope. Some choose an even darker path. 

Your only real hope is to get the best defense team you can.

Waiting around is a recipe for tragedy because government prosecutors who specialize in military sexual assault and other sex crimes are hard at work preparing a case to convict you. 

A Military Sex Crime Conviction All But Guarantees Sex Offender Registration

Sexual assault cases in the military reflect the “cancel culture” and “me too” movement of today. Once accused, nobody seems to care about your side of the story or if the government can even prove the allegations. It doesn’t seem to matter if you’re innocent. In the eyes of military prosecutors and higher ups, you are often already viewed as guilty. 

In a very real way, they want to cancel you. Cancel your reputation, your career, your ability to go to college, your ability to live a good life. You may be tossed into military pretrial confinement and stripped of your duties.

Your accuser is presumed to be telling the truth even if there is evidence showing otherwise. 

You are treated as if you are lying or are guilty because you invoked your right to remain silent. Apparently, the Constitution doesn’t apply to you. We know how you feel because we’ve seen it over and over again. 

With all of the media attention about sex crimes in the military, government prosecutors love padding their stats with convictions of military service members who roll over and plead guilty without a fight. 

• Get ready for your military reputation and good name to be soiled in the worst possible way.

• Prepare for a dishonorable discharge, loss of your G.I. Bill, sex offender registration, and a life of finger pointing. 

• Plan to be attacked verbally and physically by those that view you as the lowest of the low because you were convicted of a sex crime. Trying to explain is basically a waste of time.

You joined to serve your country and have done so honorably. Don’t let people who view you as a pawn, as a statistical patsy, run over you without a fight. Rich or poor, you deserve to be treated with dignity and presumed innocent. So hire a court martial defense lawyer that isn’t timid and doesn’t cry uncle. Hire a defense attorney that doesn’t tremble in court but instead fights with ruthless commitment.

Past Performance – What it Takes to Win

Properly preparing any case takes tireless effort. The kinds of effort where you sleep in the office, work on the weekends, skip vacation, and drink coffee by the potful. As a client, your acquittal should be the most important thing in your attorney’s life.

Make no mistake, in every court martial trial there is going to be a winner and a loser. A conviction means the government prosecutors won. A not guilty finding means you did. It’s that simple. 

You need a defense team that will work tirelessly to win your case.

Liebenguth Law obsesses about winning for clients. It’s not really even a choice, it just happens. That’s the type of lawyer you need, one that loves the fight, loves the law, and loves celebrating with service members that are victorious.

We take on tough sex crime cases that others won’t.  The greatest satisfaction is winning a sex crime case for a service member when others thought it was impossible. Those are often the military defense lawyers advising to plead guilty in order get a so called “good deal.” But it’s not a good deal if you could have done better, especially if that “better” could be a not guilty finding.    

You owe it to yourself to hire the best court martial lawyer you can find. Liebenguth Law doesn’t take every case that comes our way, but if you want to find out if you have one of those tough sex offender cases that needs fighting, contact our office today.

Sex Offender Registration Considerations

Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).  This is the Federal Act that governs sex offender registration. Under SORNA, there are three levels of registration: Tier I, III, and III.

• Tier I Sex Offender Registration. Tier I requires registration for 10 to 15 years, depending on the military service member’s prior record.

• Tier II Sex Offender Registration. Tier II requires registration for 25 years.

• Tier III Sex Offender Registration. Tier III requires lifetime registration.

There are also state specific registration requirements that vary by state. They are not all the same. Some state requirement are more stringent than others.

Military Consequences. If convicted of a sex crime, a military service member can expect to face a severe court martial sentence. 

• With near certainty, if you are an officer you will be dismissed and if you are enlisted you will be dishonorably discharged and reduced to E-1.
  
  
• Years and even decades of prison is not uncommon depending on the sex crime you are convicted of and any aggravating circumstances.
  
  
• You will likely lose all military and veteran benefits, including your G.I. Bill.

With such terrible consequences, a guilty verdict should almost always be fought against and every option that could result in an acquittal should be explored. If nobody is talking to you about how to win your case, then you should talk to a court martial lawyer that will. Only fools rush in to plead guilty.

And although it’s possible that a pretrial agreement may ultimately be your best option, you probably don’t want the lawyer who is quick to grab for one also being the guy negotiating one on your behalf.

You need to negotiate from a position of strength, not fear. Mr. Liebenguth has a wealth of experience dealing with Convening Authorities . And because Convening Authorities are almost always General Officers in sex crime cases, maybe having a junior military lawyer—often an O-3 or O-4—isn’t in your best interests.   

If you are a military service member suspected of, being investigated for, or charged with a sex crime and you want to fight for the best outcome possible, contact our office today to speak to an experienced court martial lawyer about your case.

Sexual Assault Court Martial Defense Practice Areas

• Military Sexual Assault Attorney
• Rape & Sexual Assault Defense
• Sting Operations
• Child Pornography Defense
• DNA Cases
• SHARP/SAPR
• Sexual Offender Registration
• Male on Male Sexual Crime