Stafford Man Sentenced In Federal Court For Sexual Abuse At Intelligence Conference

NEWPORT NEWS, VA — A former senior U.S. intelligence official from Stafford County has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison after being convicted of sexually abusing two women during a government intelligence conference in Williamsburg.

Michael A. Dillard, 63, was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court in Newport News following his convictions for sexual abuse, aggravated sexual abuse, abusive sexual contact and making false statements, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

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Prosecutors said Dillard was serving as deputy director of facilities for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and was a retired U.S. Army colonel when the assaults occurred during a July 2022 intelligence conference at a U.S. government facility in Williamsburg.

On July 27, 2022, Dillard instructed a woman who worked for him to follow him to his hotel room, where he sexually assaulted her while preventing her from leaving, according to evidence presented at trial. After escaping the room, the woman reported the assault to a colleague.

The following morning, base police conducted a welfare check after another conference attendee failed to report for scheduled events. Officers found the second victim in Dillard's hotel room, where prosecutors said she had also been sexually abused.

False Statements Added To Convictions

Federal prosecutors said Dillard later denied the allegations and submitted a written statement falsely claiming he had no sexual contact with either victim and that no sexual activity had occurred. Those statements led to his conviction for making false statements in addition to the sexual assault offenses.

Following a trial, a federal jury found Dillard guilty of sexual abuse, aggravated sexual abuse, abusive sexual contact and making false statements. On Thursday, a judge sentenced him to 25 years in federal prison.

The case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lisa R. McKeel and Alyson Y. McCormick prosecuted the case.