Courtroom Brawl Erupts After Not Guilty Verdict
U.S. v. Air Force E-6 – Dover AFB, DE – tried at Patrick Air Force Base, FL
Allegations: Multiple Specifications of Sexual Abuse of a Child
Max Punishment: 80+ years in prison, Dishonorable Discharge, Sex offender registration
Result: NOT GUILTY OF ALL CHARGES
Sentence: NONE
Discharge: NONE
Location/Branch/Rank: Dover AFB, DE – tried at Patrick Air Force Base, FL/Air Force/E-6
Court Martial Case Summary:
A bitter ex-wife made this accusation during a heated child custody case. Our client was accused of repeatedly sodomizing and beating his young stepson.
When our client discovered that his ex-wife was mistreating and abusing their young daughter, he filed for full custody. After a lengthy family court battle, the court awarded custody to the father. In retaliation, the ex-wife devised a scheme to prevent him from gaining custody and to remove him from her life. She coerced her son from a previous relationship to make a false sexual abuse allegation against our client, coaching the boy on what to say.
Our client took and passed a polygraph, but the Air Force moved forward.
However, we faced numerous witnesses willing to lie to win the case. Mr. Waddington and Capt Sarah Ali, backed by expert forensic psychologist Dr. Craig Rath, fought the case before an enlisted panel.
We exposed the lies and absurdity of the allegations. On the stand, the kid, now 12, was very well-coached. We got him to admit that his mother rehearsed his testimony and answers. After a careful cross-examination, the alleged victim admitted that “if he did not come up with something, then he would never get to see his sister again.”
Meanwhile, the baby’s father, a convicted felon weighing about 260 pounds, began threatening the defense lawyers throughout the trial. The judge called security forces to maintain order instead of ejecting him from the courtroom. During breaks, the victim’s mother and father loudly made threatening comments towards the defense.
The jury deliberated for over an hour. Before the verdict was read, the judge warned anyone who couldn’t control themselves to leave the courtroom. No one left.
When the jury announced the verdict—Not Guilty—there were immediate outbursts of grumbling and shouting from the back of the courtroom. As soon as the judge exited, the victim’s father charged up the aisle and attacked the defense lawyers.
A chaotic brawl ensued, with punches thrown and our client’s jacket being ripped off. Security forces attempted to intervene but were initially overwhelmed. During the struggle, a loaded M-4 fell to the ground. Mr. Waddington quickly secured the weapon while security forces tried to subdue the man. The security personnel struggled to restrain him until someone in the audience, a Jiujitsu practitioner, jumped on his back and used a rear-naked choke to subdue him, finally bringing the violent outburst to an end.
RESULT: NOT GUILTY OF ALL CHARGES
Our client took and passed a polygraph, but the Air Force moved forward.
However, we faced numerous witnesses willing to lie to win the case. Mr. Waddington, backed by expert forensic psychologist Dr. Craig Rath, fought the case before an enlisted panel.
We exposed the lies and absurdity of the allegations. On the stand, the kid, now 12, was very well-coached. We got him to admit that his mother rehearsed his testimony and answers. After a careful cross-examination, the alleged victim admitted that “if he did not come up with something, then he would be in a lot of trouble and could go to jail” (regarding his criminal misconduct – after which he accused our client of abusing him).
The jury deliberated for over an hour and acquitted our client of all charges. After the verdict was read, a brawl erupted in the courtroom. It took 6 Security Forces personnel (MPs) to break up the fight and make arrests.