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Air Force Master Sgt. Adrienne Clark is escorted from the courtroom Saturday at RAF Mildenhall, England. A jury in her court-martial found her guilty Saturday of possession of child pornography and sexual abuse of a child, among other charges. (Kyle Alvarez/Stars and Stripes)
RAF MILDENHALL, England — An enlisted airman stationed in Italy was convicted Saturday of sexual abuse of a child and possession and distribution of child pornography, drawing a sentence of more than two years in prison.
Air Force Master Sgt. Adrienne Clark also received a dishonorable discharge, ending the medical technician’s 21-year military career.
In addition to the abuse and pornography charges, she was found guilty of indecent conduct and extramarital sexual conduct after a court-martial that lasted five days.
Sexually explicit conversations, images and videos of preteen and teenage children were found in a Yahoo email account she shared with a fellow Air Force master sergeant, Nathaniel Casillas, according to prosecutors.
An investigation began in January 2020, when Yahoo froze the account and notified law enforcement. That led to the discovery of an extramarital relationship with Casillas.
In their emails, Casillas and Clark engaged in sexual banter, requests and exploration of their fantasies, which included underage children, according to evidence presented at trial.
In a court-martial in March at Osan Air Base in South Korea, Casillas was convicted of eight crimes, including possession of child pornography, distribution of an indecent recording, indecent exposure and extramarital sexual conduct. He was given a two-year prison term.
Clark’s attorney, Timothy Bilecki, said he intends to appeal the verdict, given Casillas’ conviction.
“I think we were able to show pretty clearly that he was the individual who committed these crimes, not Master Sgt. Clark,” Bilecki said.
The defense argued that Casillas had initiated the discussions and pressured Clark to go along with his fantasies. Bilecki pointed to the voluminous amount of child pornography found on Casillas’ devices and noted that he too had access to the email account.
It was unclear why Clark received a longer sentence than Casillas. Prosecutors had requested a term of eight years.
Col. Sterling Pendleton, the judge in Clark’s case, ruled that her sentence of eight years and 10 months be served concurrently, making the maximum term two years and eight months.
Besides the dishonorable discharge, she will have her rank reduced to airman basic.
“The imposed punishment ... will ensure Master Sgt. Clark is held accountable,” lead prosecutor Maj. Matthew Maurer said.
