What Sentence Follows an Air Force Intimate Image Conviction?
The Air Force records hold 16 courts-martial from 2016–2025 that ended in a conviction under Article 117a (intimate image). Every one of the 16 sentences included confinement, with a median of 6 months against 4 months for all Air Force convictions in those years.
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Short answer: The Air Force records hold 16 courts-martial from 2016–2025 that ended in a conviction under Article 117a (intimate image). Every one of the 16 sentences included confinement, with a median of 6 months against 4 months for all Air Force convictions in those years. 80% of the convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 56% Air Force-wide.
Punitive Discharges Were More Common
12 of the 15 convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge. 8 were bad-conduct discharges and 4 were dishonorable discharges. The share, 80%, was higher than the 56% for all Air Force convictions from 2016 to 2025.
1 officer or warrant officer was convicted, and that officer was dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. For enlisted members and officers alike, a sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Confinement in Every Case
All 16 convictions carried confinement. The median term was 6 months, longer than the 4 months for all Air Force convictions in those years. A quarter of the terms were 1.5 years or longer.
Each figure is the adjudged sentence, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. It also covers every charge in the case.
What Else Was Charged
4 of the 16 cases charged Article 117a alone. The same number, 4, included each of these: Article 120c (indecent recording and exposure), Article 134 (general article), Article 131b (obstruction, numbered since 2019), and Article 92 (orders violation). Article 128 (assault) appeared in 3.
Since most cases carried more than 1 article, the sentences on this page reflect those other charges as well.
Guilty Pleas and Judge-Alone Trials
12 of the 16 records list the plea. 11 of those accused pleaded guilty and 1 contested at least one charge. The contested share, 8%, was lower than the 31% for all Air Force convictions in those years. A contested case is one with a not-guilty or mixed plea.
A military judge alone decided 15 cases, and an enlisted panel decided 1. Members heard 6% of these cases, compared with 28% across Air Force convictions.
Who Was Convicted, and at What Court Level?
13 accused were junior enlisted (E-1 to E-4), 2 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 1 was an officer or warrant officer. Junior enlisted members were 66% of all Air Force convictions in those years, so this group was more junior.
8 of the 16 cases were general courts-martial (50%), compared with 46% for the Air Force. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
When the Cases Were Tried
None of these convictions came in 2016, 2017, or 2018. The first was tried in June 2019 and the last in July 2025. The yearly counts were 3 in 2019, 0 in 2020, 1 in 2021, 7 in 2022, 1 in 2023, 3 in 2024, and 1 in 2025.
Rule Changes and Gaps in the Records
The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019, and brought in written plea agreements and judge-alone special courts-martial. Article 117a is a covered offense: since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute it. New sentencing parameters apply when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. The records show trial dates only, so they cannot show which trials from 2024 on fell under the new rules.
Air Force records never report plea agreements, rarely list the charges in a full acquittal, and from 2016 to 2019 rarely list a guilty plea. The evidence and cases handled by nonjudicial punishment are not in the records.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Air Force courts-martial tried 2016–2025: ending in a conviction under Article 117a (intimate image) (16 cases), compared with all Air Force convictions in those years.
Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in Military Trial Results, data updated October 24, 2026. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: how this data was built. Errors: content@bodiesburied.com.
Related Analysis
- Article 117a (Wrongful Broadcast of Intimate Visual Images): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Sentences (hub)
- How Has Article 117a Changed in Air Force Courts-Martial Since 2016?
- Pleading Guilty to Article 117a in the Air Force: What Sentences Followed?
- How Much Confinement for an Article 117a Conviction in the Army? (another service)
- What Sentence Follows a Navy-Marine Corps Intimate Image Conviction? (another service)
- Article 118 Sentences in the Air Force: Confinement and Discharges, 2016–2025
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
About the author. Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts Where All The Bodies Are Buried and runs the Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.