Military Rape and Military Sexual Assault Cases – Military Defense Lawyer

Civilian court-martial defense attorney Richard V. Stevens has extensive experience representing military members accused of Rape, Sexual Assault, and other nonconsensual sexual offenses over his several decades of legal practice. He has been handling military cases since 1995. As a former active duty JAG, he is a military sexual assault defense lawyer who knows military law, including keeping current with the constant updates and changes to the military justice system. Attorney Stevens aggressively represents military members in military court and other military hearings and adverse actions.

Military rape and sexual assault cases are extremely serious. If you are a military member facing these allegations, you need a strong military defense lawyer as your advocate. Attorney Richard Stevens, and the military defense law firm he founded, are here to provide you with the zealous defense you are seeking to protect you from the potential devestating consequences of these military sexual misconduct claims.

Military Rape, Sexual Assault, and Nonconsensual Sexual Misconduct Defense (UCMJ Article 120) – The Climate in the Military Justice System:

In today’s politically charged military/political climate, there is a heavy emphasis on prosecuting claims of rape, sexual assault and other nonconsensual sexual misconduct. It is now almost an obsession in the military. Where there was once a time when military commanders and government lawyers would assess the merits of an allegation and exercise discretion on whether or not to charge or prosecute a case, the current pressure on the military justice system to prosecute every sexual assault allegation, regardless of any problems or weaknesses with the allegation, has resulted in a tremendous amount of these cases within the system. There is political pressure from Congress. There is public pressure from advocacy groups and the media. There is command pressure. You are likely familiar with social movements such as #metoo, #timesup, #startbybelieving.

All of this pressure is directed at taking the word “justice” out of the military justice system. The goal by those exerting the pressure on the system seems to be an attempt to limit an accused military member’s ability to defend against these claims, to stack the deck in favor of the prosecution, to attempt to ensure convictions, and then to attempt to ensure harsh sentences. These cases are very serious. They could result in federal sex crime convictions, decades or even life in prison, punitive discharges and sex offender registration.

If it seems like the military justice system is unfair and is stacked against the accused in these cases, that is because there are so many – politicians, advocacy movements/groups, press, military offices and personnel – who are trying to make the system as unfair to a military accused as they can. They want convictions. They want stiff sentences. The facts and the truth are not their primary concern. Fairness and the rights of the accused are not their primary concern. There is focused pressure on pushing the narrative that guilt should be presumed and allegations should be blindly accepted and supported. If you face a rape or sexual assault allegation in the military, you need an experienced and aggressive defense attorney on your side to push back!

It is a dangerous time in the military justice system. If you are facing this type of allegation in the current military justice system, you need a strong defense lawyer to navigate the pressures and mount a zealous defense on your behalf. Because of the current emphasis on these cases in the military, Attorney Richard V. Stevens handles more alleged rape, sexual assault, and sexual misconduct cases than any other type of case. That is often what causes clients to seek him out as an expert or specialist in this type of case. It is why he has been asked to train other junior and senior military attorneys as a guest lecturer in military and civilian professional attorney training conferences. It is also why Attorney Stevens is a defense attorney recommended by advocacy groups that help military members accused of sexual assault and/or facing military courts-martial.

While the latest military focus on alleged rape and sexual assault allegations started in late 2012, this isn’t the first time the military has set their sights on this topic. In response to the Navy “Tailhook” scandal in 1991, the military focused on alleged rape and sexual assault claims. In response to the Air Force Academy sexual assault scandal in 2003, the military focused on alleged rape and sexual assault claims. Then, after the Lackland Air Force Base Military Training Instructor (MTI) scandal of 2012, the current military justice system is again focused on alleged rape and sexual assault claims. This time, however, it does not look like the pendulum is going to right itself. Military members accused of these offenses now have to fight not only these allegations, but the system itself.

When the military justice system “focuses” on a topic like rape and sexual assault, that inevitably means the DoD will overreact and over-adjust and the military will attempt to stack the deck against the accused and his defense. These cases are not hopeless for the accused, but a strong civilian defense attorney can be key to fighting back against the pressure to convict and punish military members accused in these cases.

Civilian military defense attorney Richard V. Stevens has handled military cases for over three decades and has seen the changes in the military justice system and political environement over many years. He has been fighting against injustices in the military justice system longer than many active duty and civilian military defense attorneys have been practicing law.

Why You Need a Military Sexual Assault Defense Lawyer:

The current climate in the military justice system has resulted in, essentially, a presumption of guilt and a surrendering of discretion by the military command – where more and more meritless allegations are being prosecuted in response to public relations pressure. When Article 32 hearing Preliminary Hearing Officers (PHO) in these cases recommend against going to trial because of issues with the government’s evidence or the complainant’s credibility, prosecutors and military commanders are now often ignoring such recommendations and going to trial anyway. The pressure on them to push the case to trial is too high to eb concerned with fairness.

More disturbing is the fact that the DoD’s overreaction to public pressure has caused the service branches to conduct mandatory sexual assault briefings in which misinformation about the law of rape and sexual assault in the military and UCMJ is knowingly being spread to the military populace. This has poisoned many throughout the entire military justice process – from the investigators (Army CID, Air Force OSI, Navy NCIS, Coast Guard CGIS, military police) through command, JAG, convening authorities, prosecutors, and potential court-martial members (“jury”).

Despite these efforts to meddle in the military justice system, when politicians still did not get the percentage of convictions and stiff sentences that they sought, they took decision authority away from commanders and stood up the Office of Special Trial Counsel (OSTC) in all of the service branches. Now, the decision on whether or not to take the case to a court-martial trial is with the JAGs in OSTC, it is not the commander’s decision. Again, this change was not made to benefit the rights of the accused. It was made in an attempt to get the prosecution friendly outcomes the politicians were seeking.

As a result of this dangerous and unfair military justice climate, you need an experienced and aggressive civilian defense attorney who can protect and defend you against the pressure to convict and punish in these military cases. But you also need to know that with strong defense support, these cases are not hopeless despite the pressure on the government side!

Please see the following examples of 26 military rape and/or sexual assault cases defended by civilian court-martial defense lawyer Richard V. Stevens over the past few years that were successfully defended and/or dropped:

26 Military Sexual Assault Cases (2021-2025)

Other Successful Defense Results in Our Military Rape and Sexual Assault Cases Over the Years:

Our blog contains numerous posts addressing how we have successfully defended military members facing rape and sexual assault allegations over the many years of our military legal defense practice. There are also many posts on our blog addressing what is happening in the military justice system with these alleged sexual assault cases. Just use the search function in the blog to review these posts. Type in search terms such as “rape” or “sexual assault.” No defense lawyer can guarantee a result in a case, but we can guarantee the benefit of our extensive experience and our skill in litigating these cases. Under the UCMJ, cases such as these are covered by the following Articles:

UCMJ Article 120 – Rape and Sexual Assault Generally (Allegedly Committed On A Date After 1 Jan 2019):

Rape: Nonconsensual sexual act committed on a person using the following means:

– Unlawful force, or
– Using force causing or likely to cause death or grievous bodily harm, or
– Threatening or placing the other person in fear that they will be subjected to death, grievous bodily harm, or kidnapping, or
– First rendering the other person unconscious before the sexual act, or
– Administering to the other person by force or threat of force, or without the knowledge or consent of that person, a drug, intoxicant, or other similar substance and thereby substantially impairing the ability of that other person to appraise or control conduct.

Sexual Assault: Nonconsensual sexual act committed on a person using the following means:

– Threatening or placing that other person in fear, or
– Making a fraudulent representation that the sexual act serves a professional purpose, or
– Inducing a belief by any artiface, pretense, or concealment that the person is another person, or
– Without the consent of the other person, or
– When the accused military member knows, or reasonably should know, that the other person is asleep, unconscious, or otherwise unaware that the sexual
act is occurring, or
– Commits a sexual act upon another person when the other person is incapable of consenting to the sexual act due to (a) impairment by any drug, intoxicant, or other similar substance, and that condition is known or reasonably should be known by the accused military member; or (b) a mental disease or defect, or physical disability, and that condition is known or reasonably should be known by the person.

Aggravated Sexual Contact: Nonconsensual sexual act committed on a person if to do so would violate the subsection covering the offense of rape had the sexual contact been a sexual act.

Abusive Sexual Contact: Nonconsensual sexual act committed on a person if to do so would violate the subsection covering the offense of sexual assault had the sexual contact been a sexual act.

What you will notice from the outset is how each of these alleged offenses depends on legal definitions and military case law regarding various terms such as “sexual act,” “sexual contact,” grievous bodily harm,” “force,” “unlawful force,” “consent,” and “incapable of consenting.” This is just one of the reasons that a lawyer experienced in defending against these military rape and sexual allegations is so important.

Other alleged military sexual offenses that fall under UCMJ Article 120 include:

– UCMJ Article 120a – Depositing Obscene Matters in the Mail
– UCMJ Article 120b – Rape and Sexual Assault of a Child
– UCMJ Article 120c – Other Sexual Misconduct:
– Indecent Viewing, Recording, Broadcasting
– Forcible Pandering
– Indecent Exposure

These alleged military sexual offenses will be addressed on other pages of this website.

Other alleged military sexual or related offenses that fall under different UCMJ Articles include:

– UCMJ Article 130 – Stalking
– UCMJ Article 134 – Indecent Conduct
– UCMJ Article 134 – Indecent Language
– UCMJ Article 134 – Pandering and Prostitution

These alleged military offenses will also be addressed on other pages of this website.

Handling these cases requires the expertise of a skilled military defense lawyer. The accused military member in these cases could face significant jeopardy – a military disciplinary action that damages their career progression, a possible involuntary administrative discharge, or a possible court-martial trial. In the event of a military court-martial trial, the accused military member faces a possible federal sex crime conviction, potentially very lengthy prison sentence, bad conduct discharge, dishonorable discharge or dismissal (depending on rank), reduction in rank, forfeitures of pay and allowances, sex offender registration requirement, and a variety of other legal, professional, personal, and family consequences.

Military defense attorney Richard V. Stevens is often considered a subject matter expert in military rape and sexual assault cases – having defended countless such cases over the years with successful results. He has also been in contact with members of Congress and/or their staffs over these issues and has been sought by media outlets as an expert in the subject. Initial case consultations are free, and it is crucial that you are prepared for the tough fight ahead in these cases!

Attorney Richard V. Stevens is a civilian criminal defense attorney and former active duty military JAG lawyer who exclusively practices military law and defends military members stationed around the world who are facing military trials, discipline and investigations.

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No attorney can guarantee the outcome you seek in your military case. What we can promise is that we will apply our decades of experience to the defense of your military case. This includes our extensive experience in military law, military regulations, military investigations, military disciplinary actions, military adverse actions, and/or military court-martial trials and cases.

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Attorney Richard Stevens

Mr. Stevens has been handling military cases since 1995. He has defended military cases dealing with the most serious military offenses, including allegations of “war crimes,” national security cases, murder, manslaughter, homicide, rape, sexual assault, other sex related offenses, drug offenses, computer crimes (pornography), larceny, fraud, AWOL/desertion, conduct unbecoming, military academy offenses, offenses within combat zones, senior officer cases and other military specific offenses around the world. [ Attorney Bio ]