PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. (December 3, 2015) -- Picatinny Arsenal attorney Kurt Perhach and two federal agents have been recognized by the Federal Law Enforcement Foundation for work that led to a federal jury conviction of former Army Maj. John Jackson and his wife, Carolyn, for child endangerment and assaulting their adopted children.
On Nov. 6, Perhach received a 2015 Federal Prosecutor of the Year Award, while New Jersey FBI Agents Todd Bina and Michael Bronisz received Investigator of the Year Awards.
For more than five years, Bina and Perhach conducted a long and detailed investigation into allegations that John Jackson and his wife assaulted their children.
They obtained and reviewed extensive medical records and interviewed dozens of medical and social service professionals who interacted with the victims.
Earlier this year, Perhach conducted a military separation proceeding to remove Jackson from the military.
At its conclusion, the military board's verdict was the worst type of administrative discharge possible.
A former active duty Judge Advocate at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, and current Reserve Command Judge Advocate as a major for a military police brigade, Perhach began working on this case in April 2010.
During the course of the investigation, Bina and Perhach worked with multiple Assistant United States Attorneys.
Bina developed the eldest natural son of the couple as a key witness, providing crucial evidence against his own parents, while Perhach gave a historical and factual context to each of the Assistant United States Attorneys and New Jersey Child Protective Services employees during the course of the investigation.
On July 8, 2015, John and Carolyn Jackson were convicted of 10 and 12 felony counts including conspiracy, assault and child endangerment, all occurring on Picatinny over the course of two and a half years. Sentencing for the Jackson couple is scheduled for December 2015.
Bina and Bronisz worked with the witnesses extensively to prepare the complicated case for trial, which began on Oct. 6, 2014.
RESTART AFTER MISTRIAL
On Nov.14, 2014, the judge ruled the proceeding a mistrial after the lead prosecutor mistakenly disclosed to jurors that an adopted 2-year-old son of the couple had died in their care, a disclosure the judge ruled was prejudicial to the defense.
After the mistrial, Bina and Bronisz did an outstanding job of dealing with the emotionally distraught witnesses, preparing them for the retrial, according to their award citation.
When asked what it was like working on a case like this, Perhach stated, "Sometimes people are capable of horrific acts. But for the most part in our great system, justice prevails. A case like this not only makes you look at your own children differently, but it makes you look at every child differently, knowing that some people out there are capable of hurting an innocent child. I only pray that the deprived youthful innocence of the Jackson children has not forever marred them."
Perhach added: "Complex legal cases like these do not happen without a collaborative effort. Here at Picatinny, we have an outstanding team of investigators in the IG's office, the Internal Review Office, the Police Department and the Criminal Investigative Unit.
"The prosecutor is just one part of the spear of justice and, without all of the investigative efforts of teammates, criminal prosecutions could never be successful. We are fortunate at Picatinny to have so many talented and caring investigators such as Don Meyer, John Szatkiewicz, Dave Murawski and Chris Johnson."
NOMINATED FOR AMC AWARD
Perhach's efforts on this case, combined with his other responsibilities at Picatinny Arsenal, led to his nomination earlier this year as the 2015 Army Materiel Command Attorney of the Year.
His other duties include reviewing all conference requests on Picatinny, serving as one of three labor and personnel attorneys on the Arsenal, an advisor to the command, an ethics advisor, along with being an administrative law and legal assistance attorney.
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