U.S. v. Navy O-3 –Naval Base Coronado, CA – tried at Naval Base San Diego, CA
Allegations: 6 Specifications of Article 120 Rape/Sexual Assault – Two Alleged Victims
Max Punishment: 120 years in prison, Dismissal, Sex offender registration Result: NOT GUILTY OF ALL CHARGES
Sentence: NONE
Discharge: NONE
Location/Branch/Rank: Naval Base Coronado, San Diego, CA/Navy/O-3
Summary:
Our client, a Navy SEAL officer, was accused of raping two women that allegedly did not know each other. Both “victims” were attractive white women with professional careers. The Navy’s top prosecutor heavily coached both.
How it All Began…
“Victim One” was a 38-year-old physician’s assistant. She met our client on Bumble, a dating app. She worked as a surgeon at a local hospital. She was well-educated, physically fit, and well-spoken.
Victim One claimed that she went to our client’s apartment because they were going out for drinks. She told the police that when she entered his apartment, he assaulted her. For four hours, she fought him off, and he eventually raped her. The next day, she filed an official report with the San Diego Police Department. She went to the hospital, where a nurse conducted a Sexual Assault Forensic Examination (SAFE). Afterward, Victim One called our client and recorded the phone call. Our client denied assaulting her and told her that he was sorry that she was upset.
Then, Victim One encouraged another woman, Victim Two, to claim that our client raped her as well. The defense did not learn of this fact until right before the trial.
The second woman was also a professional woman who was attractive and well-spoken. This was a challenge for the defense because male jurors tend to believe attractive female witnesses, especially if they are the victim. Needless to say, our client faced an uphill battle.
The Link – a Frog Hog & Local Gossip
We needed to found some link between the two women. We used a private investigator, but he found nothing. As the trial date approached, we caught a break. The women had a mutual friend who was a Navy SEAL groupie (a “frog hog” as known by locals) and a local San Diego gossip. She connected the two when she learned that both knew our client. Behind the scenes, this Frog Hog played a key role in fanning the flames and trying to push the case forward.
According to Urban Dictionary: A “Frog Hog” is “a slutty woman whose primary goal is to get her hooks into a Navy SEAL.”A Frog Hog is an obsessive woman who will do anything just to be associated with Navy SEALs. Frog Hogs use the internet to find every Navy SEAL possible on Facebook, past or present, and “like” and comment on every single thing that any Navy SEAL posts on their profile, and do so with an enormous degree of ass kissing. They also read through everyone’s comments on that particular SEAL’s profile and can figure out who other Navy SEALs are by creeping on their Facebook pages. They then friend request those men and exhibit the same kind of behavior. They also get overly dramatic in facebook arguments, and give their opinions when no one asked them to in the first place, and get extremely defensive over the SEALs that they stalk, even though they may have never met or barely know these men, yet act like they are best friends.”
#MeToo Movement
After they got connected, Victim One tried to convince Victim Two to accuse our client of rape. In one text, Victim One wrote, “We are stronger together.” Their text messages talked about the #MeToo movement, Harvey Weinstein, and defeating “rape culture” in America.
Navy Press Release
After the Command preferred charges, someone in the Navy leaked negative information to the media. The press smeared our client’s name leading up to the trial.Before trial, the Military Judge ruled that we could not use much MRE 412 evidence that exposed the alleged victims. Thus, we were fighting with one arm tied behind our back, and the jury was not able to get the full picture of who these women were.
As far as the jury knew, they were angels, which was far from the truth.
Trial By Jury
Our client demanded a jury trial, and we prepared to battle. The Navy assigned a female Commander (O-5), one of the most experienced prosecutors in the Naval Service, to try the case.
The challenge we faced was cross-examining these seemingly credible women. Both were well-coached by the prosecution. Both took the stand and told their harrowing accounts of rape. Many witnesses testified against our client, including an NCIS agent, a digital forensic expert, a sex assault forensic examiner, and a San Diego Sex Crime Investigator. On cross-examination, the defense tore them apart.
After the government’s last witness, the defense rested and called no witnesses. The jury deliberated for an entire day before delivering a verdict of NOT GUILTY of all charges.
After the verdict, Mr. Waddington joined his client, his family, and his SEAL buddies for drinks at the Top of the Hyatt in San Diego.
Call our experienced military sexual assault defense lawyers today for help finding the best court-martial attorneys for your case.
What Does Frog Hog Mean?
A frog hog is a slang term used in military communities, particularly around Naval Special Warfare units, to describe a woman who actively pursues Navy SEALs for the status and association that comes with knowing them. The term combines ‘frog,’ a reference to the Naval Special Warfare community (UDT/SEAL teams have long been called ‘frogmen’), with ‘hog,’ implying an obsessive or excessive pursuit of that connection.
In practice, the term describes someone who goes out of her way to identify, befriend, and insert herself into the social circles of active or former SEALs. This can include monitoring social media, attending venues near SEAL-heavy installations like Naval Base Coronado, and cultivating relationships with multiple personnel within the community. The behavior is driven by a desire for proximity to the SEAL identity rather than genuine personal connection.
The term came up directly in this case because a mutual acquaintance who fit this description served as the link between the two accusers. She connected two women who both knew the defendant, and the defense argued she played a behind-the-scenes role in encouraging both to move forward with their accusations. Understanding who this individual was and how she operated became a key part of building the defense strategy.
How a Frog Hog Connects Two Accusers in a SEAL Case
In this case, the frog hog was a mutual acquaintance who connected two women who each claimed the defendant had assaulted them. She learned both women knew the same Navy SEAL, introduced them to each other, and the defense argued she actively encouraged both to pursue formal accusations. Without identifying this individual and understanding her role, the two accusers might have appeared to be independent witnesses with no prior connection.
Finding that connection required significant investigative work. The defense initially used a private investigator who turned up nothing. The link only surfaced as trial approached, giving the defense limited time to develop the information. Once identified, the mutual acquaintance’s behavior fit the pattern described in the ‘What Does Frog Hog Mean?’ section below — monitoring SEAL social circles and inserting herself into their personal lives around installations like Naval Base Coronado.
This dynamic matters in military sexual assault cases because the relationship between accusers can affect how a jury weighs their testimony. If two alleged victims appear to have come forward independently, that can seem to corroborate both accounts. If they were connected by a third party with a stake in the outcome, that changes the picture. Uncovering those connections early is one reason thorough pre-trial investigation is a central part of any court-martial defense.