Trial date set for former Las Vegas-based Air Force commander accused of child sex crimes
Lt. Col. Kevin DiFalco faces at least seven charges, records show.
Las Vegas Metro police arrested DiFalco in September 2022. Two months later, records showed the matter was turned over to the military court. DiFalco's case was later removed from the Air Force trial docket while the allegations were to be addressed through a military administrative process.
Former Las Vegas-based Air Force commander accused of sex crimes still holds job amid delays in military court process
Most recently, the Office of Special Trial Counsel referred the case against DiFalco to trial by general court-martial, a Nellis Air Force Base spokesperson told the 8 News Now Investigators.
DiFalco's current allegations in military court include sexual assault, sexual abuse of a child, indecent exposure, giving false testimony, conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman, possessing, receiving, or viewing child pornography, and indecent conduct.
Col. Matthew P. Stoffel is listed as the military judge.
DiFalco has kept his military job, worked as an active-duty member stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, and served as the Director of Staff for the 561st Weapons Squadron, Maj. Lauren Ott told the 8 News Now Investigators.
DiFalco initially faced seven counts of lewdness with a child under 18 and one count of child abuse or neglect in the Las Vegas Justice Court.
Air Force to re-file child sex abuse charges against former Las Vegas-based commander
DiFalco was the commander of the 57th Operations Support Squadron and an F-16 pilot assigned to Nellis Air Force Base. He was relieved from command on September 8, but he remained on active duty at Nellis AFB, a spokesperson said. DiFalco served in the Thunderbirds program until June 2021.
DiFalco is accused of grooming and then sexually assaulting the child multiple times, a report stated. The report was extremely graphic, and much of its contents cannot be reported to protect the child's identity.
Former Las Vegas-based Air Force commander accused of grooming, raping child repeatedly, report says
The report also claimed DiFalco told the child 'not to say anything,' adding the commander and the person talked regularly on Snapchat, a messaging application where photos and messages disappear.
The allegations became known after an individual came forward to Las Vegas Metro police, the report stated. The person reporting the allegations said they had attempted to tell an out-of-state police agency last year, but that 'the case was closed.'
The person reporting the allegations also noted a distinct tattoo in DiFalco's groin area, which investigators corroborated in the report.
DiFalco was commissioned in the Air Force on January 15, 2005, according to Ott.
To reach investigative reporter Vanessa Murphy, email vmurphy@8newsnow.com.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Drunk driver gets near-max sentence for killing Las Vegas airman, 23
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A drunk driver who killed an airman on a Las Vegas-area freeway will serve nearly the maximum sentence allowed by Nevada law, a judge ruled Tuesday. On April 13, 2024, Hetsel Campos killed Airman Natalie Villegas, 23, as Villegas was driving to work at Creech Air Force Base on U.S. 95. Villegas joined the United States Air Force when she was 18, her family said during Campos' sentencing Tuesday. Earlier this year, Campos took a plea deal, avoiding a trial and sending him to prison for at least two years. Nevada state law requires a judge to sentence drunk drivers who kill to 2-20 years. State law limits the maximum amount of time a defendant can serve in prison before becoming parole eligible to eight years, making 8-20 years the maximum sentence. Campos' blood-alcohol level was about twice the legal limit when police tested it in the hours after the crash, documents said. In court Tuesday, Clark County District Court Judge Tara Clark Newberry sentenced Campos to nearly the maximum penalty: 6-20 years. 'I should be the one that's gone — and not her,' Campos said before Clark Newberry sentenced him. 'I should be the one that's not here.' Campos' attorney, Josh Tomsheck, argued his client had a clean record. Villegas' family pressed the judge for the maximum possible sentence. 'My daughter was taken from us all by an irresponsible decision,' Carol Vanessa Serrano, Natalie's mother, said. 'My daughter had no chance. She was simply on her way to do what she loved, and that was to serve this country.' The crash happened around sunrise near mile marker 99. Villegas was driving northbound toward Creech when Campos rear-ended her at 117 miles per hour, police said after his arrest. In the hours before the crash, surveillance showed Campos drinking at Downtown Las Vegas casinos. For reasons unknown, Campos was driving north, miles away from the Las Vegas valley and his home, police said. 'While on her way to serve our country, you irresponsibly and selfishly came along and took all that away from my daughter,' said Natalie's father, Juan Villegas. 'My charge and my oath is to uphold justice and to hold people accountable for the choices that they make. And unfortunately, Mr. Campos, you made the worst possible choice you could have probably made in your life that night.' Clark Newberry's sentence means Campos will be parole eligible in 2031. A proposal earlier this year from Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo to change the law to allow prosecutors to charge a DUI driver who kills with second-degree murder failed. The amended version would have carried a similar maximum sentence as the state's second-degree murder statute. A second proposal focusing on Nevada's vehicular homicide law also failed. Lawmakers will not reconvene, except for special circumstances at the request of the governor, until February 2027. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
25 Investigates: Pushing feds for answers after agents detain Canton mother with green card
25 Investigates is working to get answers from the U.S. government after Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents at Logan International Airport detained a Canton mother who has been living legally in the U.S. Jemmy Jimenez Rosa, 42, returned earlier this month from a family vacation in Mexico with her husband and their three young daughters. She was traveling with a valid U.S. Green Card — one that was just renewed in July. Her family says she was detained on August 11 and has been in custody ever since. 'She's very selfless, constantly trying to help out family, friends. Everything's about the kids,' said her husband, Marcel Rosa. Detained After Family Vacation Marcel Rosa, a U.S. citizen, says he handed over all the passports and his wife's Green Card when they landed at Logan. He says an officer pulled Jemmy aside for additional questioning. She was taken into a room alone. 'I walked in, and my wife's head was just down, and you could tell her whole spirit was just crushed,' he recalled. Rosa says the officer brought up a decades-old marijuana case. At age 20, Jemmy pleaded guilty to misdemeanor possession and served probation. With little explanation, Rosa says he feared the worst. 'I just told my kids, I was like, hey girls… this might be the last time you see your mother,' he said as he was fighting back tears. Jemmy was held at Logan for four days without access to her medication, a phone call, or even a shower, according to her family and their attorney. Rosa says his wife suffers from high blood pressure, is diabetic and takes medication to treat mental health conditions. 'She Gets Sandbagged at the Airport' Boston-based immigration attorney Todd Pomerleau says he had no contact with Jemmy while she was detained at Logan by CBP. 'They would not allow us to see her. They wouldn't allow us to tell her she even had an attorney,' Pomerleau said. 'She has her green card renewed multiple times. She's allowed to travel multiple times, and now she gets sandbagged at the airport.' Legal Breakthrough — But Still No Answers Since last week, 25 Investigates has pressed CBP, the U.S. Attorney's Office, and ICE for answers about Jemmy's detention. Each agency has directed us to another. Meanwhile, this week Pomerleau challenged Jemmy's decades-old conviction in Massachusetts district court, arguing she didn't have proper legal counsel when she entered her plea 22 years ago. A judge and prosecutor agreed. Her case was dismissed. Jemmy's record is now clean. But as of Tuesday, August 19th, she still remains in ICE custody. And the Rosa family still waits for answers. 'All of them wake up in the middle of the night time just saying mommy mommy mommy,' Rosa said. 'We just want her free.' What's Next Pomerleau has sued the federal government, alleging a lack of due process in Jemmy's detention. She has since been transferred to an ICE detention facility in Maine, where she is now able to communicate with her family and her attorney. The agency told Pomerleau they could not hold any female detainees in Massachusetts. 25 Investigates asked CBP about the conditions Jemmy was allegedly held in. We also asked how many people are currently detained at Logan. We will update this story when we get a response. A bond hearing is scheduled for August 28 related to Jemmy's detention. Pomerleau says he is working to expedite that. 25 Investigates has also reached out directly to ICE leadership, including U.S. Border Czar Tom Homan, for comment. We are still waiting for a response. The family has launched a GoFundMe to help cover legal and unexpected expenses. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW Solve the daily Crossword


San Francisco Chronicle
5 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Lawyer argues Meta can't be held liable for gunmaker's Instagram posts in Uvalde families' lawsuit
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A lawsuit filed by families of the Uvalde school shooting victims alleging Instagram allowed gun manufacturers to promote firearms to minors should be thrown out, lawyers for Meta, Instagram's parent company, argued Tuesday. Nineteen children and two teachers were killed in the May 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. The families sued Meta in Los Angeles in May 2024, saying the social media platform failed to enforce its own rules forbidding firearms advertisements aimed at minors. In one ad posted on Instagram, the Georgia-based gunmaker Daniel Defense shows Santa Claus holding an assault rifle. In another post by the same company, a rifle leans against a refrigerator, with the caption: 'Let's normalize kitchen Daniels. What Daniels do you use to protect your kitchen and home?' The lawsuit alleges those posts are marketed toward minors. The Uvalde gunman opened an online account with Daniel Defense before his 18th birthday and purchased the rifle as soon as he could, according to the lawsuit. Meta attorney Kristin Linsley argued that the families provided no proof that minors, including the Uvalde gunman, even read the Daniel Defense posts on Instagram. She also said the posts didn't violate Meta's policies because they weren't direct advertisements and did not include links to purchase any products. Linsley said content advertising firearms for sale on Instagram is allowed if posted by 'brick-and-motor and online retailers,' but visibility of those posts is restricted for minors, under Meta's advertising policies from the end of 2021 to October 2022. 'This is not a playbook for how to violate the rules. This is actually what the rules are,' Linsley said. The families have also sued Daniel Defense and video game company Activision, which produces 'Call of Duty.' She also argued that the Communications Decency Act allows social media platforms to moderate content without being treated as publishers of that content. "The only response a company can have is to not have these kinds of rules at all," Linsley said. 'It just gets you down a rabbit hole very quickly.' The lawsuit alleges that firearm companies tweaked their online marketing to comply with Meta's policies, including by avoiding the words 'buy' or 'sell' and not providing links to purchase, and that the social media company did not protect users against such strategies. 'With Instagram's blessing and assistance, sellers of assault weapons can inundate teens with content that promotes crime, exalts the lone gunman, exploits tropes of misogyny and revenge, and directs them where to buy their Call of Duty-tested weapon of choice,' the lawsuit says. 'Parents don't stand a chance.' 'Not Instagram, not Meta, but marketing agencies provide advice on how to be in compliance with Meta's policies," Linsley argued. Last month, lawyers for Activision argued that legal proceedings against them should be thrown out, saying the families allegations are barred by the First Amendment. The families alleged that the war-themed video game Call of Duty trained and conditioned the Uvalde gunman to orchestrate his attack.