US v. E-5, United States Air Force
June 12, 2018
Nellis AFB, Las Vegas, Nevada
Government charges Staff Sergeant with two specifications of sexual assault and one specification of possession of a controlled substance. Prior to trial, the Staff Sergeant insisted to law enforcement and his command that his wife’s phone contained pictures and text messages that would prove he did not commit sexual assault. His command did not believe him and Staff Sergeant retained Mr. Robert Capovilla. Mr. Capovilla and the firm’s investigator launched a full-scale investigation into the complaining witness’ background discovering that just prior to making the false allegations against our client, that the complaining witness had previously been caught having an affair on her husband. Moreover, Capovilla obtained a digital forensic expert to extract data from a key cell phone in order to uncover exculpatory evidence. The extraction was only conducted after Capovilla filed several motions with the court. Thanks to the motions, Capovilla was finally given access to the phone, which had been seized by OSI nearly one year before. OSI inaccurately wrote in its Report of Investigation that nothing of evidentiary value was found on the seized cell phone. Within just 24 hours of receiving the data from the phone, Capovilla’s expert uncovered hundreds of text messages from the complaining witness that clearly showed she lied to investigators about the night of the alleged assault. Data from Capovilla’s extraction also revealed a strong motive to lie in order to save her failing marriage. Three days before trial, Capovilla releases this evidence to the Government and, in response, the Government not only drops both sex assault allegations, but the Government also agrees to dismiss the charge for drug possession
Case Result
NO Sex Offender Registration, NO Federal Conviction.
