Neal quoted in this week's Marine Corps Times

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Gina Cavallaro" <gcavallaro@atpco.com>

Date: May 16, 2011 3:24:49 PM EDT

To: "'Puckett Neal'" <neal@puckettfaraj.com>

Subject: RE: article

Neal, here is the text. Sorry it took so long!

Issue dated May 23, 2011

MAINBAR

The dangers of sexting

Explicit images, messages put Marines' careers at risk

Gina Cavallaro, gcavallaro@militarytimes.com, and Andrew deGrandpré, adegrandpre@militarytimes.com

Only Marie Blackett knows for certain whether she contemplated the consequences of using a cellphone to photograph herself naked. But if the new second lieutenant had suspected those images would prompt a career-ending military investigation, odds are she would have reconsidered.

Same goes for 2nd Lt. Jonathan Neuhaus, a classmate of Blackett's at The Basic School in Quantico, Va. Their nude photos were discovered on Blackett's phone in October by her now ex-husband, who turned them over to officials at TBS and later posted them online along with other risqué content he claims they exchanged.

With growing frequency, Marines are using cellphones and other digital media to swap sexually explicit images and messages, only to see that content disseminated beyond their intended audience and - to their horror - up the chain of command or into the hands of law enforcement. The fallout is not only embarrassing, it has severed marriages, ended careers and landed some Marines in jail.

Sexting - the sharing of explicit images and messages via cell phone and other digital media - has made headlines over scandals at schools and driven some states to contemplate legislation. But the Marine Corps has no specific policy on the matter. Nor does it maintain data on incidents in which Marines are investigated or disciplined for sexting. But attorneys who specialize in military justice say they have seen a spike in inquiries from Marines accused of crimes or violations stemming from it. An informal poll of law firms uncovered eight stories similar to the scandal at TBS.

Some involve officers. Some involve enlisted Marines. Some involve officers and enlisted Marines.

"In all these sex cases today, they're sending each other pictures," said Patrick McClain, a retired major and court-martial trial judge with a civilian law practice in Dallas. His caseload involving sexting-related infractions is up noticeably over the last two years, he said. Marines and other troops who contact him are often trying to determine whether it's worth paying for legal representation when the evidence against them is so damning.

Among consenting civilian adults, sexting is perfectly legal, provided they're not exchanging lewd images of minors. Sexting among Marines is legal as well, but unlike in the civilian world, where compromising photos or messages might be scandalous, those same pictures and texts can cost Marines their careers because the activity that's connected to them may violate military-specific policies.

Many single Marines and couples embrace sexting discreetly as a means to maintain a romantic connection through long deployments and other times of extended separation. Others do it to cheat. And the service has a history of coming down hard on illicit activity and poor judgment.

While there's no specific mention of sexting in the Uniform Code of Military Justice, Marine officials note, sexting is often accompanied by activities that are covered in the UCMJ. Commanders can use text messages and photos as evidence to prove an extramarital affair or other behavior deemed counter to good order and discipline. Moreover, unsolicited sexting has been highlighted in some sexual-harassment complaints.

Marines are expected to behave sensibly, said 1st Lt. Joshua Diddams, a Marine spokesman at the Pentagon. Sexting, he said, is "not a good idea."

How widespread is it?

Apart from the two lieutenants at Quantico - who will receive other-than-honorable discharges, a base official said - Marine officials on the West Coast are investigating a male officer and a female junior enlisted Marine accused of swapping inappropriate photos and texts, according to an attorney familiar with the case. Their relationship was brought to the command's attention by other Marines who observed supicious interaction between them, prompting seizure of their personal cellphones followed by adultery and fraternization charges, the attorney said.

There's a similar case on the East Coast involving a senior Navy officer and a junior Marine officer, the attorney said. Allegations of an affair were made by their spouses, who discovered the two had been swapping naughty photos and messages online, the attorney said.

In a case that played out earlier this year at Camp Lejeune, N.C., an enlisted Marine received unspecified nonjudicial punishment after his ex-fiancée complained that a naked photo she sent him went viral upon their breakup. The case came to leadership's attention after the civilian woman's mother went to a local TV station and slammed the Corps for recruiting people of such "immature nature."

The Marine accused the woman of being unfaithful and allegedly sent the photo to several of his buddies with a message encouraging them to uphold a "Marine tradition" by forwarding it to as many people as possible, according to WTVD, the ABC News affiliate that first reported the story. "Make her famous guys," the alleged message said.

Capt. Timothy Patrick, a spokesman for Lejeune's II Marine Expeditionary Force, discredited the Marine's claim of such a tradition. "We have other traditions like God, country and the Corps, like honor, courage and commitment," Patrick said. "But this? No. This is not a tradition."

Far more serious sexting allegations proved career-ending for Sgt. Mitchell Autrey, 27, a recruiter in Moore County, N.C. He was kicked out of the Corps on April 15, the same day he was jailed by local sheriff's deputies on charges of cyber stalking, statutory rape and indecent liberties with a child, among many others. Autrey is accused of using text messages and the social networking site Facebook to solicit sex from female high school students between the ages of 15 and 19, authorities said.

The popularity of texting, coupled with the ease of using a cellphone's camera and the ability to instantly transmit images, have ushered in an era in which people take a more casual view of once carefully calculated efforts to conceal sexually explicit behavior, some observers note.

"There used to be social mores that prevented people from taking their photos down to Fotomat and having them developed," said Neal Puckett, a retired lieutenant colonel and court-martial lawyer in Alexandria, Va., whose practice has experienced more inquiries from service members seeking help with sexting cases. "It wasn't illegal, but you just wouldn't do that."

Sexting exposed

Blackett and Neuhaus met at TBS, where they joined the officer ranks together upon graduation last October - Neuhaus with the added distinction of "honor graduate." Blackett's three-year marriage to Ray Eggleton, a civilian construction worker from their native Indiana, had begun to fray several months earlier, he told Marine Corps Times.

After graduation, Neuhaus was assigned to Marine Aviation Training Support Group 21 at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla. Blackett has remained at TBS pending the outcome of her case and is assigned to Mike Company. Each has hired lawyers, though they declined to discuss their clients' cases. Marine officials aren't saying much about them either, including what charges the service pursued.

Eggleton discovered the nude photos and "nasty" texts on Blackett's phone days after the graduation ceremony, he said. He was furious but not surprised. Having forwarded the content to his phone, Eggleton marched into the office of the officer on duty at TBS and turned over everything. Blackett was interviewed some time after that, but as the months ticked by with no word from the Corps on whether there would be any disciplinary action, Eggleton got antsy.

In February, he created a website titled "Man or Woman of Exemplary Character?" The link was forwarded to all staff noncommissioned officers at TBS and the entire command at MATSG-21, Eggleton said. A TBS classmate of Blackett and Neuhaus sent it to Marine Corps Times. "In the Marine Corps spirit," Eggleton said, "I went for a precision strike."

The site was live 11 days when a lieutenant colonel phoned Eggleton and asked him to take it down. Citing his admiration for the service, Eggleton obliged.

"I have the utmost respect for the Corps," he said. His ex and her pal "don't deserve to be a part of it."

The consequences of having images and compromising messages fall into the wrong hands can cause trouble for any Marine, said Jack Zimmermann, a retired Marine prosecutor and criminal trial judge based in Houston. But for officers, the fallout can be especially severe. They are held to a higher standard.

"Who would intentionally and willingly snap a photo of themselves by any means knowing that people who work for those officers would see it?" said Zimmermann, a retired colonel. "It could detract from those officers' authority. It could easily be construed as being such poor judgment that it's conduct unbecoming."

Much of the curriculum at TBS centers on the concepts of morality and character, said 2nd Lt. Agustin Solivan, a Quantico spokesman. It's made clear from the start that "once you mortgage your integrity, you lose your credibility and become less of an effective leader."

Why do people do it?

People engage in sexting because it's easy and instantaneously gratifying, according to behavioral health experts. Cellphones, smartphones and other hand-held, Web-enabled devices almost all have cameras. In the time it takes to peel off your clothes and pose in front of the bathroom mirror, you can be sending your own self portrait to anyone in your address book.

But what will the recipient do with it?

Scandalous images and messages don't need to go viral to be dangerous, said Michael Leahy, a self-described recovered sex addict, inspirational speaker and author of five sex books, including "Porn Nation."

"Sexting," he said, "is the crack-cocaine of sexual addiction." Those who do it tend to crave it, Leahy said, much the way a drug addict needs his next fix. He characterized sexting as a gateway to more-destructive behavior, such as moving from a cyber environment to seeking anonymous sexual encounters in person. Leahy said he has counseled several men whose marriages were on the rocks because of the men's escalating need for more. Leahy's own 15-year marriage collapsed because of his insatiable need to find sex any way he could, he said.

The behavior that fuels sex addiction is a big problem in the military, he said, especially for troops downrange. Few carry cellphones in the war zone, but email and social networking sites can facilitate sexting and pose the same risks.

"You start as a recreational user, couple hours a week, and in a high-pressure environment, it's not unreasonable. But what happens when that becomes a couple of hours a day? One of the forms of escalation is going from looking at pictures to voyeurism or exhibition like through peeping or exposing yourself," he said. "It's a heightened sexual experience."

Leahy and his second wife, an active-duty Army sergeant, have helped troops overcome sex addiction through a faith-based program and they have provided counseling materials to deployed military behavioral health specialists.

But those specialists, while acknowledging there is a problem, say few sex addicts come forward.

"I have only been approached one time in the last six months regarding porn addiction, and the soldier never followed through," said an Army behavioral health specialist working downrange who asked not to be identified. "I think the overall mentality of your average soldier prevents even those that realize they have a problem and want help with it from actually seeking it."

And the behavior is hard to stop upon redeployment. Unlike watching porn on a computer or getting it in an email, the instantaneous nature of sexting on a hand-held device means Marines can get a quick fix by looking at a picture he may have just received. It's a means to become aroused at any time. Addiction, and a loss of intimacy with a spouse or significant other, is not far behind.

"Sex addicts don't have relationships, they have serial sex acts with parts of other people's bodies," said Dr. Reid Finlayson, a practicing psychiatrist and sex addiction specialist at Vanderbilt University. "It can be compulsive."

Yale University military justice scholar Eugene Fidell recalled a contemporary from his days in the military "who carried around a photograph of his girlfriend, and all she was wearing was a smile." That was the early 1970s. Wireless technology has raised the stakes, he said.

"It is such that with a few keystrokes, something like this can reach thousands of people and inflict great pain on the victim," he said.

Puckett advises Marines to use discretion in all things personal, pointing out that people in uniform are under a higher level of scrutiny than the rest of the population.

"The walls we used to use to stay private are kind of disappearing with the digital age. It's the timeless question," he said. "'What made you think you could get away with this?'"

SIDEBAR

Word from the wives: Keep it private

Gina Cavallaro, gcavallaro@militarytimes.com

When debating the wisdom of exchanging sexy pictures and notes on a cellphone or other digital media, one couple's risky behavior is another's means of keeping their romance sizzling.

The rules are simple: Keep it private, don't overdo it and make the exchange only with someone you trust.

"I wouldn't suggest it for someone who's been in a relationship for just a couple of months," said Kelly, who for two years has been dating a Marine stationed in Twentynine Palms, Calif. "I talk to a lot of girls who do the same. I can imagine it could be bad if you do it when you're not in a committed relationship, and you don't know what the other person might do."

While it's not illegal unless it involves underage individuals, the practice of trading explicit text messages and pictures - called "sexting" - has gotten plenty of Marines in trouble and ended more than one marriage. Storm clouds roll in when allegations of extramarital affairs or other misconduct are made to a Marine's command by a spouse or someone who feels wronged.

Evidence on a cellphone can be really tough to refute.

For Kelly and Marine wife Michi, who asked that their names be changed to protect their privacy, sharing intimate - and visual - love notes with their men is an important element of staying connected during long deployments, weeks of off-site training or even a regular workday.

"To send a naughty text to my husband at work, to get him anticipating the coming evening at home, is a good thing," said Michi, who's been married to her West Coast Marine for four years. "It's a good way to keep a marriage fresh and strong."

Friends, family and private couples counselors, she said, have all suggested sexting as a way of keeping the relationship lively and fun. But there can be pitfalls that even trusting couples should consider.

Both women caution against leaving cell phones unattended to avoid giving an unscrupulous person the opportunity to manipulate or distribute personal images or notes. If the device will be somewhere other than on your person, couples should deny others' access to personal data by enabling the cellphone's locking mechanism. They also suggested keeping sexting activity to a minimum during the spouse or boyfriend's work day - not only out of respect for his need to get his work done but to minimize the chance someone nearby will see images meant to be private.

Image archiving is another concern. Couples who want to ensure that extra measure of privacy should talk to their phone companies about how to delete personal information, then do it frequently, Kelly and Michi said.

If couples are taking precautions, sexting is good to go, the women believe. When Kelly sexts with her boyfriend, she said, "it's mostly a love message, but I include a few hot ones to make sure he knows I still love him that way, too." She suggests women keep their pictures tasteful to "leave something to the imagination, in case other people do see it."

It "takes away some of the fun if too much is revealed," Kelly said, "and it could be dangerous."

Kelly and Michi agreed that sexting can be done safely by observing those basic rules.

"What I do with my husband, I do for me and him and our marriage. I try my best to be respectful of the Corps and the job he does," Michi said. "It's all about maturity and responsibility. If you do it and get in trouble, you have to be responsible and deal with what you do."

Gina Cavallaro Marine Corps Times
703 750-8639 | gcavallaro@militarytimes.com

From: Puckett Neal [mailto:neal@puckettfaraj.com]
Sent: Monday, May 16, 2011 11:00 AM
To: Gina Cavallaro
Subject: Re: article

Because it's not online?

Neal A. Puckett, Esq

LtCol, USMC (Ret)

Puckett & Faraj, PC

1800 Diagonal Rd, Suite 210

Alexandria, VA 22314

703.706.9566

www.puckettfaraj.com

www.twitter.com/puckettfaraj

The information contained in this electronic message is confidential, and is intended for the use of the individual or entity named above. If you are not the intended recipient of this message, you are hereby notified that any use, distribution, copying of disclosure of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you received this communication in error, please notify Puckett & Faraj, P.C. at 888-970-0005 or via a return the e-mail to sender. You are required to purge this E-mail immediately without reading or making any copy or distribution.

On May 16, 2011, at 10:54 AM, Gina Cavallaro wrote:

Well... you can't. But I think I can send you the text. Stand by.

Gina Cavallaro Marine Corps Times
703 750-8639 | gcavallaro@militarytimes.com

From: Puckett Neal [mailto:neal@puckettfaraj.com]
Sent: Monday, May 16, 2011 10:44 AM
To: Gina Cavallaro
Subject: article

Gina,

How can I find your article online?

Neal