A Marine's conviction for obtaining nude images through deceit on a dating site was overturned by the service's criminal appeals court. The judges ruled that a new trial is warranted because prior rulings misused wire fraud statutes. (Donna Burnett/U.S. Air Force)
A Marine Corps staff sergeant dismissed from the service for posing as a woman on an online dating site to obtain nude images from other women is entitled to a new trial, the service’s criminal appeals court has ruled.
Justin M. Colletti’s conduct was “despicable and potentially criminal,” but the military judge abused his discretion by accepting a guilty plea for wire fraud, the U.S. Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals said in a unanimous decision released Tuesday.
The images in the case involved neither the exchange of money nor traditional property, the court said. The 1952 federal wire fraud statute falls under Article 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. It requires deceptive schemes that deprive a victim of money or property.
Prosecutors argued that the case involved traditional property interests since the victims lost the right to control the exclusive use of the images depicting their bodies.
In a 3-0 decision, the court set aside Colletti’s plea and sentence.
Colletti was convicted of one specification each of wire fraud, failure to obey a lawful general order and obstruction of justice in a special court-martial on Jan. 4, 2023, at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C.
He was given a bad conduct discharge, ordered to forfeit $1,278 in pay per month for 12 months and reduced in rank to E-1.
The case underscores the importance of not believing everything one reads on the internet, especially with respect to dating sites, the judges opined.
Colletti used the website OkCupid, among others, to engage in sexually explicit conversations with two adult women, according to court documents. He posed as “Jenicae” while also pretending to be Jenicae’s florist and lover, “Nikki,” who was purportedly interested in having a threesome with the targeted women.
Colletti was “catfishing” for digital nude photos, according to court records. He used a picture of an unidentified woman to pose as Nikki and a series of private, intimate images that his then-girlfriend had shared with him, to pose as Jenicae. The victims sent him the images he sought.
His soon-to-be ex-girlfriend discovered the scheme on his iPhone 11 while Colletti was sleeping on July 4, 2021, court documents state. She reported him to his command.
The appeals court said the nude images involved privacy issues more than property interests.
“Imagine if Appellant had used OkCupid to pretend that he was a lesbian in order to fraudulently induce his victims into sending him pictures of them rebuilding a carburetor. Would we be here discussing wire fraud? We think not,” they wrote.
Judges should interpret the law as written, not as they wish it were written, the court chided.
“And Congress may yet empower the Government to police internet dating sites to ensure that Marines obtain nude photographs from otherwise consenting adults without resorting to loathsome deception,” the court wrote. “Congress just hasn’t done that in the federal wire fraud statute.”
