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ISCR Case 21-01914 — CASE

Case record

ISCR Case 21-01914

A decided public DOHA case, shown for research — not advice or a prediction.

Case Profile
Decision Date11/16/2023
Statusdenied
LevelHEARING
TypeSTANDARD ISCR
Participants
Applicant Representation: Pro Se
Judge: Marc E. Curry
Government Counsel: Carol Connelly
Case Summary
The applicant in this case was a 68-year-old married man with a history of serious allegations, including the molestation of his stepdaughter and financial difficulties. The Department of Defense issued a Statement of Reasons (SOR) citing security concerns under Guidelines D (sexual behavior), E (drug involvement), and F (financial considerations). The applicant admitted to the molestation, which occurred between 1992 and 1994, but characterized it as inappropriate touching rather than sexual molestation. He denied drug involvement but acknowledged a positive drug test in 2012, attributing it to an unreliable testing situation. He also admitted to approximately $58,000 in delinquent debt, attributing it to unemployment.
The administrative judge ruled against the applicant on all allegations except for the drug involvement claim, which was resolved in his favor due to insufficient evidence of ongoing drug use. The judge found that the applicant's sexual misconduct was serious and disqualifying, noting that he had not engaged in therapy and had initially denied the abuse when confronted. The judge concluded that the applicant failed to mitigate the security concerns related to his sexual behavior and financial issues, ultimately denying his eligibility for a security clearance based on the totality of the circumstances and the need to protect national security.
Guidelines Evaluated
- Guideline DSexual Behavior · Against Applicant
- Guideline EPersonal Conduct · Against Applicant
- Guideline FFinancial Considerations · Against Applicant
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Case Headnote

ISCR Case No. 21-01914

deniedNov 16, 2023· Hon. Marc E. Curry· hearing

Summary

A 68-year-old male applicant was denied a security clearance due to unmitigated concerns under Guideline D (Sexual Behavior), Guideline E (Personal Conduct), and Guideline F (Financial Considerations). The Statement of Reasons detailed three primary allegations: the applicant molested his stepdaughter, tested positive for cocaine, and had approximately $58,000 in delinquent debt.

The judge found the applicant's sexual misconduct to be serious and unmitigated. Furthermore, the applicant failed to provide credible explanations for his past behavior, including the positive drug test for cocaine. His significant delinquent debt, totaling around $58,000, also raised concerns, as he demonstrated a lack of effort to address these financial obligations.

Ultimately, the applicant's lack of credibility and failure to demonstrate rehabilitation for these serious security concerns led to the denial of his security clearance. Disqualifying conditions cited included AG ¶ 13(a), AG ¶ 16(e), AG ¶ 19(a), and AG ¶ 19(c).

Why the Applicant Was Denied

The applicant's sexual misconduct involving his stepdaughter was deemed serious and unmitigated.
The applicant failed to provide credible explanations for his past behavior and drug test results.
The applicant's significant delinquent debt and lack of efforts to address it raised concerns about his reliability and judgment.

Conditions Referenced

Disqualifying

AG ¶ 13(a)appliedSexual Behavior of a Criminal Nature
AG ¶ 16(e)appliedPersonal Conduct Creating Vulnerability to Exploitation
AG ¶ 19(a)appliedInability to Satisfy Debts
AG ¶ 19(c)appliedHistory of Not Meeting Financial Obligations

Key Rule Quoted

“no one has a ‘right’ to a security clearance.”
— Department of the Navy v. Egan, 484 U.S. 518, 528 (1988)

Procedural Posture

SOR issuedJun 8, 2022
Answer filedMar 21, 2022
Hearing heldJun 29, 2023via video teleconference
Decision dateNov 16, 2023

Cite For

Serious Security Concerns Under Guideline D Due to Past Sexual Misconduct
Lack of Credibility Impacting the Assessment of Drug Involvement Under Guideline E
Financial Irresponsibility as a Disqualifying Factor Under Guideline F

Editorial summary generated for research. Not legal advice; not a prediction. Verify against the full decision before relying on any quoted language.

Standardized Decision Profile

SEAD-4 Guideline D (Sexual Behavior) · descriptive summary of a decided case

Posture: HearingDecided: denied

The judge found that the applicant engaged in serious sexual misconduct by molesting his stepdaughter multiple times over a two-year period. Despite the applicant's claims of mitigation, the judge ruled against him, citing the severity of the conduct and lack of evidence of rehabilitation or recurrent behavior.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Type	Response	Disqualifying (¶13)	Mitigating applied (¶14)	Mitigation
1.a	Applicant molested his stepdaughter.	Against Applicant	Criminal Sexual Conduct	Admitted	(a) sexual behavior of a criminal nature, whether or not the individual has been prosecuted	—	Claimed Other

Descriptive standardized rendering of a decided public case (Guideline D). The verbatim source decision is shown in full below.

Standardized Decision Profile

SEAD-4 Guideline E (Personal Conduct) · descriptive summary of a decided case

Posture: HearingDecided: denied

The judge found against the applicant on the personal conduct concerns related to testing positive for cocaine. The applicant's denial of drug use was not substantiated, and the judge concluded that the applicant failed to mitigate the security concerns associated with his conduct.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Conduct	Concealed Issue	Response	Disqualifying (¶16)	Mitigating applied (¶17)	Mitigation
2.a	Applicant tested positive for cocaine.	For Applicant	Questionable Judgment General	—	Denied	—	—	—
2.b	specific text not stated in this decision	Against Applicant	Unspecified Personal Conduct	—	Unknown	—	—	—

Descriptive standardized rendering of a decided public case (Guideline E). The verbatim source decision is shown in full below.

Standardized Decision Profile

SEAD-4 Guideline F · descriptive summary of a decided case

Posture: HearingDecided: denied

The judge found that the applicant has approximately $58,000 in delinquent debt, which raised significant financial concerns under Guideline F. Ultimately, the judge ruled against the applicant on all financial allegations, concluding that the applicant failed to mitigate the security concerns associated with his financial issues.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Type	Response	Disqualifying (¶19)	Mitigating applied (¶20)	Mitigation
3.a	Applicant has approximately $58,000 in delinquent debt. $58,000	Against Applicant	Unspecified Financial	Unknown	—	—	—
3.b–3.y	24 sub-charges — specific text not stated in this decision (against the applicant).	Against Applicant			—	—	—

Descriptive standardized rendering of a decided public case (Guideline F). The verbatim source decision is shown in full below.

Full decision

The complete, official text — footnotes and signatures included — is in the original PDF.