Technical Sergeant Anthony Lizana; wrist slapped

| February 28, 2017

A number of folks sent us the link to this story about Technical Sergeant Anthony Lizana who was facing 38 years for his misconduct with eight women on four charges with specifications including dereliction, adultery, assault consummated by battery and sexual assault. He was sentenced to three months confinement and one month of hard labor.

Retired Colonel Don Christensen, president of the not-for-profit organization Protect our Defenders, believes the sentence is very light, especially the confinement.

“He was convicted of sexually assaulting a subordinate. And considering how much of an issue sexual assault is in the military, to have a superior sexually assault a subordinate and only get three months confinement I think is exceptionally light,” said Christensen.

“This is the type of sentence we would typically see for an 18-to-20-year-old airman who abused cough medicine,” Christensen added.

Christensen estimates that Lizana will serve only about 2 months for good behavior. In addition, the dishonorable discharge will have to go through a lengthy appeals process that could take anywhere from one to three years.

Christensen, who served as the chief prosecutor for the U.S. Air Force from 2010 to 2014, also explained the hard labor process. He said Lizana will likely perform his normal duties under his commander. When he’s done performing his normal duties for the day, he’ll do an additional four hours of work. Lizana will also likely have to come in on Saturdays for eight hours and Sundays for four hours. The extra tasks could include painting or pulling weeds.

“In a word, it’s a joke,” Christensen said of the hard labor punishment.

I agree – if the Air Force is serious about preventing sexual harassment and sexual assault, this conviction doesn’t send that message.

Category: Air Force

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STSC(SW/SS)

Whose nob has this guy been polishing.

The Other Whitey

Probably has photos of the judge molesting small animals.

desert

Castrate the asshole….!

ex-OS2

Cocksucker.

Mick

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

Bring it back around for an immediate re-attack at low level and bring the ‘Snake and Nape’ this time.

You are cleared hot.

ex-OS2

Tony should have been bitch slapped.

Cocksucker.

Mick

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

(AND A LARGE BURST OF BRIGHT ORANGE FLAMES AND BLACK OILY SMOKE)

Shack!

11b-mailclerk

Consolation prize: they went for the DD exit.

Congradulations, shitbag.

Green Thumb

I hope they (the Air Force) follows through on the DD.

Because the rest of the sentence is a joke.

My best guess is that there are some other things (issues with the victims) going on behind the scenes.

Mayhem

Air Force definition of “Hard Labor” painting, grass cutting, gutter cleaning, weeding, taking out the trash. All these years as a homeowner and I never knew I had been convicted of an offense. I need to file an appeal with Household 6 to get my sentenced reduced or an extra conjugal visit or two.

26Limabeans

Wait until you find yourself lining up rocks along the path to your door and painting them white. You look down at the paint splattered BDU’s from thirty years ago and you just want to cry.

2/17 Air Cav

“Retired Colonel Don Christensen, president of the not-for-profit organization Protect our Defenders….” Protect Our Defenders? It should be called Protect Our Defenders from One Another. According to POD’s website, the organization “is the only national organization solely dedicated to ending the epidemic of rape and sexual assault in the military and to combating a culture of pervasive sexual harassment and retribution against victims.” So, I’m sure Don Christensen’s opinion counts, just not with me. What Christensen didn’t say–and dollars to donuts he would if he knew or it would fan the flames, is the nature of the assaults alleged by three of the women. The three-month sentence, I am saying, may have been appropriate under the facts and circumstances, which we aren’t privy to. All I can conclude is that E1 Lizana is a jerk, a criminal now, and a sex machine.

26Limabeans

“and a sex machine”

Well, he “”is”” wearing a cunt cap.

David

An extra-light sentence – gee, you would think he must be a senior officer to get that.

Green Thumb

It seems they are hammering senior Officers a lot harder.

MSG Eric

First thing I thought was “did he grab an NCOs uniform to wear? He’s gotta be at least an O-5 or O-6 for that kind of sentence, right?”

AW1Ed

I smell a plea bargain.

Hondo

My thoughts exactly.

MSG Eric

Very likely, according to what someone below wrote, he was convicted on multiple “lower” charges so perhaps they went with the charges they could prove.

At the least he’s getting kicked with a Double Dick separation. With the ‘light’ sentence I’m guessing they’ll not forgive and let it become a lighter discharge.

zach

home girl is now trying to fight the DD

she is a fucking joke?

AZtoVA

Extra four hours of work IS hard labor for the AF…. Just sayin’ (let the haters start hatin’ LOL)

Graybeard

Something doesn’t smell right about this.

Technical Sergeant Anthony Lizana is a rapist.
Technical Sergeant Anthony Lizana is a loser of a husband.
Technical Sergeant Anthony Lizana ought to be horsewhipped.
Technical Sergeant Anthony Lizana ought to be gelded.

2/17 Air Cav

“Technical Sergeant Anthony Lizana is a rapist.” That’s news to me.

Graybeard

Maybe I misunderstood the intent of the phrase “assault consummated by battery and sexual assault.”

“Sexual assault” is, unless I am more confused than normal, a form of rape.

If I misinterpreted that phrase and the implication of “assault consummated by battery” as a precursor or contributing factor to “sexual assault” then I offer my apologies.

Hondo

Although listed in the same UCMJ article, I’m reasonably sure that rape and sexual assault are different crimes requiring different conduct on the part of the perpetrator. See p. IV-68 of

http://www.apd.army.mil/pdffiles/mcm.pdf

If he was convicted of sexual assault, you can bet the prosecution couldn’t prove that his conduct met the definition of rape under the UCMJ.

Graybeard

OK, I stand corrected.

timactual

That’s the problem; what is the definition of “sexual assault”? When 6 year olds are arrested for “sexual assault” the term becomes meaningless. Everything from actual rape to kissing another child’s hand without an invitation is “sexual assault”.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/27/education/boy-6-suspended-in-sexual-assault-case-at-elementary-school.html

I tend to think that if an actual rape was involved he would have gotten a tougher sentence.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/27/education/boy-6-suspended-in-sexual-assault-case-at-elementary-school.html

timactual

PS

I tend to think that the conflation of rape and every other possible offense is intentional. The feminist left wants to portray women as victims and all men as predators.
It has worked; note the reflexive assumption here that rape was involved, and not some less serious offense.

2/17 Air Cav

Time was that rape’s definition–generally, a penetration, however slight, by a man of a woman using force or threat of force–was not confused or disputed. (Yes, I cleaned the def a tad.) Rape is not sexual in the usual sense of that word. Anyway, nowadays, rape the term is applied to all sorts of circumstances of a true sexual nature, even among consenting adults, if judgment is impaired by drugs or alcohol. There’s also so-called date rape and, of course, statutory rape. There is also gay rape, previously impossible under common law, as the victim had to be a woman. No wonder people get confused.

Your worst nightmare

Do you know him personally?? I’d assume not..

You are wrong and saddly miss informed.

Yef

So, what did this guy actually do?

In today’s SHARP operational environment I strongly doubt a NCO coul walk away with such a light sentence.

I suspect this dude did nothing and he was accused by some ex-girlfriend or something.

I mean, I’ve seen quite a few Army NCOs burned to the ground for far less than these accusations seem to imply.

The Air Force cannot be this different, can it?

26Limabeans

“So, what did this guy actually do”

Probably got caught flying United.

Cowpill

I worked with an NCO who was found to have transmitted child porn and basically got even less than this toad. We stumbled on to his profile on an old computer and turned it over to the OSI, it had thousands of images on it.What thanks did I get? I eventually got an Article 15 for embarrassing leadership.

Silentium Est Aureum

Well, seems everyone gave their, “Harumph!” in front of Congress, and then went right back to doing the same old fucking bullshit.

Does anyone know if the convening authority can hand down a harsher sentence? Be nice if they could.

Ret_25X

This story reminds me of the Drills at Aberdeen back in the 1990s who got harsh sentences for having sex with trainees.

The legal theory was simple–the existence of the hierarchical rank structure is such that a subordinate cannot give willing consent to a superior in any case. Therefore, all sex between such persons is rape.

What happened to that legal standard?

I sat on CM panels at Fort Hood and I think I know exactly what happened here. In every case, the officers on the panel wanted to let them off with a slap on the wrist and the Sr NCOs wanted to bury the perps.

Officers will happily keep criminals in uniform and send them to your unit. Why? Must be the indoctrination….

2/17 Air Cav

“The legal theory was simple–the existence of the hierarchical rank structure is such that a subordinate cannot give willing consent to a superior in any case. Therefore, all sex between such persons is rape.”

Not according to the UCMJ it isn’t. Did you ever convict someone of rape under the circumstance you described, where a superior and subordinate had consensual sex?

Ret_25X

Yes. Twice.

Both received more than 15 years and a BCD or DD. I would note that the crimes were clearly not just a relationship gone bad, but the legal theory of the prosecution was the same that was used at the Aberdeen trials.

I’m not defending it, I’m simply pointing out the fact that the standard does not appear to be used uniformly.

My suspicion is that the difference is in how the charges are worded (or worse, how much press the incident may have attracted in the media.) I’m willing to bet that in this case, the charges are vague (likely Art 134-6) leading to this outcome.

However, this case law has been settled on appeal (all appellants lost) and is therefore precedent.

Oh, and the UCMJ is a standard for filing the charge, the MCM is the standard for punishments. Based on the MCM, I agree that consensual relationships are rarely conflated with rape in charging. But, if there is a legal standard, then it should be used as a standard. Charging below the actual crime because it is easier on the Command can be said to be prejudicial to good order and discipline.

This is why many call for taking such issues away from the military completely. Our legal outcomes can appear to be pretty weak sometimes, although that is most usually just an appearance.

In any event, my take is that there is no point in standards that are not enforced.

2/17 Air Cav

How did this get so complicated? Every crime has its elements, each of which must be proved. Rape is a crime. That a rape occurred and the defendant committed that rape are unavoidable and inescapable prerequisites to concluding that the defendant is guilty of rape. You wrote that consensual sex between a superior and a subordinate is rape. I say no, it isn’t, not in military or civilian criminal law.

MrBill

Here’s a little more detail about what Lizana was convicted of:

“The most serious charges involved sexual assaults against three women. He was convicted on only one of the specifications, for touching a senior airman’s crotch in 2015 without her consent. He was drunk at the time, according to prosecutors.

“In testimony, another airman said she was disturbed when Lizana twice bear-hugged her at a surprise off-base birthday party for her and hinted that he bought a sex toy as her birthday present.

“Testimony also showed two women said they had affairs with him and weren’t aware at first that he was married and a father.”

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/texas/article/Air-Force-sergeant-convicted-of-misconduct-with-8-10960459.php

So he was convicted of one non-consensual touching of private parts, and otherwise was a jerk who fooled around with people he shouldn’t have fooled around with. He was acquitted of two other sexual assaults. I do think his sentence was light, but not as shockingly light as some accounts have made it out to be. Light sentences sometimes happen in the military justice system, because for most crimes there’s a maximum sentence but no minimum sentence.

jonp

1) slap or punch the drunk guy better yet, kick him in the crotch and be done with it
2) push him away and tell him not cool
3) jilted lovers.

Did this guy not have any superiors that were aware of what his behavior was and council him after #1?

timactual

“Lizana worked in a medical supply warehouse at Lackland and was accused of giving shoulder massages, hugging and kissing young, lower-ranking women and three sexual assaults.”

Sounds like he had a history. I smell scapegoat for the dereliction of his superiors. Evidently nobody at all paid any attention to all those classes on sexual harassment.

I guess I am the only one who would have given him a lighter punishment. Frankly I don’t think copping a feel, and that seems to be the most serious offense, is enough for a DD or jail time.

Let the stoning begin!

FemaleVet

I agree. This is a fail for his entire chain of command and they are trying to throw the book at him now because they know they messed up. I am sick of these females slutting around when it works and then playing victim.

borderbill (a NIMBY/BANANA)

Somethin’ don’ soun’ right.

The Air Force is guilty of ugly if they wear pisscutters like the dude in the pic is wearin’.

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jonp

I”m going to go out on a limb and say that it sounds like a mutual relationship that went bad resulting in charges being thrown around by a jilted lover otherwise the sentence is inexplicable.

FemaleVet

This story is a joke. Bear hugging and shoulder rubs. This smells like airman who band together because they were in trouble and needed to make some deals. I love how this article doesn’t mention anything about the immunity deals all the airman received to testify.