Air Force Sexual Assault Cases Against NCOs (E-5 to E-9): Outcomes and Sentences

Trends › By Offense › Article 120 › NCOs (E-5 to E-9)

Based on 77 cases · 2016–2025 · Air Force records · data updated October 24, 2026

Longer Sentences Than the Offense Overall

The records show 67 convictions, and 58 of those sentences included confinement. The median confinement was 2.9 years, longer than the 2.5 years for all Air Force Article 120 cases. A quarter of the terms were 16 years or longer.

46 of 67 convictions (69%) were sentenced to more than one year, more often than the 64% for the offense as a whole. 33% of convictions were sentenced to 5 years or more, compared with 26% for all Article 120 cases. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case.

Fewer Short Sentences

5 convictions (7%) were sentenced to 6 months to 1 year, compared with 12% for all Air Force Article 120 cases. 7 (10%) were sentenced to under 6 months, compared with 12%.

9 convictions (13%) had no confinement, about the same as the 12% for all Air Force Article 120 cases. Sentences for NCOs were more often at the long end of the range.

Punitive Discharges for 91%

61 of the 67 convicted NCOs (91%) received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge, about the same as the 89% for the offense overall. 53 of those were dishonorable discharges. A dishonorable discharge is the most severe discharge, and only a general court-martial can adjudge it.

A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out an administrative separation afterward.

Pleas and Contested Cases

41 records list a plea. 35 were contested, meaning the NCO pleaded not guilty to at least one charge, and 6 were guilty pleas. The contested share was 85%, slightly higher than the 82% for all Air Force Article 120 cases.

Air Force records from 2016 to 2019 rarely list a guilty plea. Many records in this group have no plea listed and are not counted in that share.

Enlisted Panels Heard Most Cases

The forum is listed for 76 cases. Members heard 51 of them: 40 enlisted panels and 11 officer panels. A military judge alone decided guilt in 25 (33%).

The accused usually chooses between a military judge alone and a panel. Members heard 28 of the 35 contested cases (80%). Most guilty pleas are heard by a military judge alone, so the high share heard by members follows the high contested share.

Which Other Offenses Were Charged?

Article 120 was the only charge in 34 of the 77 cases. Most cases therefore included at least one other article, and the sentences above include those charges as well. Assault under Article 128 was the most common other charge, in 23 cases. The general article, Article 134, was charged in 15, and Article 120b, child sexual abuse, in 13.

Orders violations under Article 92 were charged in 9 cases, and Article 128b, domestic violence (numbered since 2019), in 5. 74 of 77 cases (96%) were general courts-martial, compared with 95% for the offense overall.

Cases by Year and Base

The 77 cases were tried from January 2016 to December 2025. There were 5 cases in 2016, 8 in 2017, and 14 in 2018, the highest yearly count. There were 5 in 2019, 4 in 2020, 8 in 2021, 10 in 2022, 6 in 2023, 11 in 2024, and 6 in 2025. Counts this small can change by a few trials from year to year.

JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, JBSA - Lackland, Texas, and Hill AFB, Utah, each tried 4 cases. Aviano AB, Italy, and Scott AFB, Illinois, each tried 3. Together they had 23% of the cases. Larger bases try more cases of all kinds.

Rule Changes and What the Records Do Not Show

Article 120 was rewritten in 2012 and amended again for offenses on or after January 1, 2019. The Military Justice Act of 2016 also took effect on that date. Since December 28, 2023, sexual assault has been a covered offense, and special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute it. All of these changes depend on the offense date, which the records do not give. Trials from 2024 on therefore include cases under both the old and new rules. The records cannot show which rules applied to any one case.

Air Force records rarely list the charges in a full acquittal, so this page gives no acquittal rate. The records also do not show the evidence, plea terms, or nonjudicial punishment.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 120 on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.

Compare: federal court. Sexual Abuse of an Adult: Federal Sentences vs. Air Force Courts-Martial, 2016–2025

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.