So I was offered a Job today with a very large company that will open up a lot of opportunities for me. They want me to start beginning of the year BUT they also want me to get a TS in the near future. I have have a Secret in the past but since than I was charged with a Felony Domestic Violence charge that was withheld for several years while they made sure that it was not a pattern with me and they should not attempt to actually go to court with me on it due to them not having enough evidence, went through a class that they asked from and was on probation but even the probation officers did not check in with me as often as they were supposed to and were trying to get my case removed since I was not an issue in anyway. So 4 years later it is now dismissed completely. I am trying to find out if I am still clearable or not since continued employment with them is contingent on getting cleared. I have heard very mixed things. I know it greatly depends on being open about it and I am. I just wanted to input from others who have either been in my position or who have experience seeing these kind of things. Any information good or bad would be greatly appreciated.
Iâve heard of people get cleared with things like this {ie, felonies) but your issue is a little tricky For one thing, it is relatively recent, which is a negative; but on the other hand, the charge ended up being dismissed, so that is positive. There must have been some kind of charge or plea for you to be placed on probation, or is that not necessarily true?
I guess you must have been placed under arrest so I think that is where it would come into play when filling out the form if there was no conviction. Make sure you have all the details available. Iâm not sure you need to include all the details on the form but the investigator will definitely want to see them. Other folks on this forum will have additional comments Iâm sure.
Hopefully they will drag their feet asking you to submit your SF-86 for the TS because in matters like this, time is on your side, that is, the more time passed since the actual incident, and the more time you show that it was an isolated event and youâve been a law abiding citizen since then. Remember it is a âwhole personâ concept so the circumstances of the rest of your case can go a long way to mitigate the issue of the felony charge.
Honesty is the best policy. Make sure you disclose all the facts and circumstances of the event. You did not indicate that you have a FELONY conviction. BY the way it was YOUR responsibility to check in with Probation not the other way around. The clearance takes in the entire person not one moment in time in your life. 4 Yrs down the road from completion of Probation should not be an issue as long as that is the only criminal charge you have been involved with. Good Luck.
For it to be dismissed I had to agree that if I did screw up in 6 years that I would plead guilty. The got lessened to less than 3 because no one wanted to deal with me because again I was not a problem. Being in Idaho the details of my situation were against me and the chances of me fighting and winning were low even with no evidence against me. Thatâs where the agreement to plea guilty IF I messed up in those 6 years came in. But on the form it just asks if you have been convicted not charged which by the letter of the law I was never convicted. So this is where the should I take my chances or not comes into play which is why Iâm trying to get s little better feel from others.
Regardless of the final disposition, the fact that you were arrested, went to court, and were on probation means you are REQUIRED to disclose this information. Adjudication is based on actual conduct and not final disposition by a court. The police report and statements on the incident will be obtained during a background investigation. This will be compared to what you disclose and state during an interview, As others have indicated, better for you to be totally honest and accept responsibility for your actions. If this is a one-off type incident then it can be mitigated, however, if you create a perception of lack of candor or not being forthright about it then have will sink your own ship.
Sorry for the confusion, itâs been 4 years since the original charge almost 2 since the charge was dismissed.
My probation they had to check in with me, we were supposed to meet once a month and check in but they never had time to schedule so they just talked to me every few months. It was supervised but mine was the equivalent of unsupervised since i didnât have any restrictions of any kind.
But as you guys have said honesty is best and thatâs what I planned on I just wanted to get other opinions before I leave my current job to take this one and take this risk.
Too add a little more information that may help⌠This was an incident with my ex-wife where i grabbed her and turned her around ,so she would not pull our 3 week old son out of my arms while she was upset about not finding clothes that fit right for a party, when I turned her around the inside of my elbow slipped around her neck while i was holing her hands, once I got her into this position I was able to push her onto the bed and get to the bathroom while she calmed down. The police were called due to her yelling about giving our son back (while I was in the bathroom with him) fast forward several months the Felony DV strangulation charge was finally brought up and finished with the agreement of what I stated earlier. Her and I are not on good terms and were not on the best of terms at the time of this happening due to other family members. I am just hoping this all doesnât tank my ability to obtain a clearance since it was an isolated incident, to this one person (she tried stating that this had happened for awhile and each new story she brought up was worse than the last one which is why the judge agreed to dismiss the charges after I proved I was not a problem individual)
My bottom line question is if you were in my position would you accept the job and leave the one you currently have. Or do you think it is too unlikely for the clearance. There are no other large issues in my past, only some minor financial issues which are all cleared up.
Even if not required, this should be reported. The question will come up in the investigation in any case. Like every other issue discussed here, get out in front of it.
Even if you were never convicted or never entered a plea, there is a record. I would go ahead and answer âYesâ to the question and provide an explanation. If you answer âNoâ and the investigator or adjudicator decides you should have answered âYesâ you will be in a position of having the defend THAT as well as the situation.
Iâm sure that you have copies of court records, records from your lawyer and your probation officer, describing the intervention that you complied with, the class you attended and your good record since this ONE incident. It IS just one incident, right? All of this will work in your favor.
I have to feel that having the judge and the probation department on look favorably on you looks good. They usually come down pretty hard on these cases. Start gathering ALL of the documentation that you can and produce a written explanation of the incident from the beginning right up to today.
You can also consult with a lawyer about getting this expunged. You will still have to report this but the fact that you are working to get it expunged (a great idea in any case) shows one more thing that you are doing to maintain your good standing.
I thought this was a case of going for a TS at your current job.
If youâre talking about switching jobs, I guess that makes it a little more risky. At any rate, this is going to be a more complicated case and theyâre going to want to look into all of this, so it may be one of these cases that takes over a year⌠so factor that into your decision. And as I noted before, the more time that passes with no additional incidents, the better for you.
I will make sure to do all of that when I fill out the SF86 in a month or two than, thanks for all the advice. Do I put the documentation in the SF86? I do not remember a place to do this when I last filled one out like 6 years ago or so.
Unfortunately Idaho does not expunge cases, I did the best I could by getting it dismissed it was originally supposed to end up as withheld which in legal speak is the same thing and dismissed but dismissed looks better to others I guess.
No this is for a job that I was just offered with Boeing, I can start work beginning of the year but continued employment is reliant upon the ability to get TS/SCI after I start. I think I am going to take it and hope for the best. I know their main concern is if I have anything someone can hold over me and all my family and friends know about this issue and anyone who doesnât is free to ask me I have no shame, I know I should of handled the issue much differently but I didnât and I took the steps to mitigate the issue and better myself. Unless they are looking at something else as well this is my only glaring mark on my âpermanent recordâ.
The only caveat that I would provide is that you want to discuss this with Boeing BEFORE you leave your current position. It is certainly possible that they may not be happy about having to wait too long for your TS to clear. If they have not problem, then I would guess that they have seen enough cases to know that your should be cleared and that they are willing to wait.
Answer 22.2 - YES, fill out all required blocks accurately it also wouldnât hurt to provide the case number in the additional notes section. In my opinion, if that is your only issue, you may have a chance; however, if you have other problems you may want to stay at your current job.
Ed, I disagree. The SF-86 asks for time frames on certain questions for a reason. Primarily so that the forms arenât loaded up with stories about how, for example, âSteveâ feels guilty about spray painting the football field for his senior high school prank or how âJaneâ smoked cigarettes for the first time her freshman year. Frankly, it is to filter out the minor, not material items that some people would otherwise list and waste an investigatorâs time. Typically, anything minor/moderate wont hurt anyoneâs chances at a clearance and anything outside 108 months is a non-issue, no matter how serious.
Read the form, and answer the question, donât go outside the scope of the question. Simple stuff.
Dave . . . Yes . . . And the incident was only four years ago as I read it. Besides that, in my recent BI, the investigator brought up several items that may have been, accurately, out of scope and requested an explanation. We are not talking about someone who feels guilty about painting the football field in high school. If that were the case, I would agree with you.
This isnât a decision that will always go one way or the other. Itâs not âreport everythingâ or âreport nothingâ. The circumstances matter and getting out in front of ANY domestic violence issue, dismissed or not, shows candor and seems to be the better idea.
I have worked in Idaho and your information will come out in the NACs.
Section 22 Police Record, has several questions, so lets look at fewâŚ
-In the past seven years have you been arrested by any police officer, sheriff, marshal or any type of law enforcement (which includes military law enforcement btw). - Yes according to your statement.
-In the past seven years have your been charged, convicted, or sentenced of a crime in any court. - Yes, again by your own words.
-Have you ever been charged with a felony offense? Ever means ever. Yes, by your own admission, you were charged with felony domestic violence.
There is no wiggle room - omit the charges and incident but be prepared for an agent/investigator to say during your Subject interview: " Well, during the course of the investigation we discoveredâŚ"
Domestic violence especially felony crimes are very serious these days with all the workplace violence. He was charged with strangulation and I seriously doubt he will get a clearance.