When Air Force Accused Plead Guilty to Sexual Assault

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Based on 25 cases · 2016–2025 · Air Force records · data updated October 24, 2026

Every Sentence Included Confinement and a Punitive Discharge

This page covers Air Force cases that ended in a guilty plea where Article 120 was among the charges. Every one of the 25 convictions included confinement. Every convicted enlisted member received a punitive discharge.

Across all Air Force guilty pleas in the same years, 7% of convictions had no confinement, and 60% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge. Of the 25 discharges here, 19 were dishonorable and 6 were bad-conduct discharges.

How Long Were the Sentences?

The median confinement was 1.8 years, compared with 4 months for all Air Force guilty pleas. A quarter of the sentences were 5.4 years or longer.

18 of 25 convictions (72%) were sentenced to more than one year, compared with 22% across Air Force guilty pleas. 32% of this group were sentenced to 5 years or more, compared with 5%. Only 2 cases (8%) were sentenced to under 6 months, compared with 55%. These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case.

Almost All Cases Were General Courts-Martial

24 of the 25 cases were general courts-martial (96%). Across all Air Force guilty pleas, the general court-martial share was 43%. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

Across all Air Force guilty pleas, special courts-martial were more common than general courts-martial. The records cannot separate the effect of the court level from the facts of each case.

Other Charges in These Cases

Article 120 was the only charge in 9 of the 25 cases. In the other cases, the most common other charges were Article 120c (indecent recording and exposure) in 6 cases, Article 128 (assault) in 6, Article 120b (child sexual abuse) in 5, Article 134 (the general article) in 4, and Article 112a (drug offenses) in 3.

Each sentence covers the whole case. The confinement figures therefore include these other charges as well as the Article 120 charge.

Rank of the Accused and Who Decided Guilt

19 of the accused were junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 6 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 0 were officers or warrant officers. This group is more junior than all Air Force guilty pleas, where 68% were junior enlisted.

A military judge alone decided all 25 cases. The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt, and most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas.

When and Where

The first case in this group was tried in April 2020 and the last in August 2025. There was 1 case in 2020, 5 in 2021, 6 in 2022, 5 in 2023, 5 in 2024, and 3 in 2025. The records show 0 cases from 2016 to 2019 because Air Force records from those years rarely list a guilty plea. That does not mean there were no guilty pleas in those years.

No installation had more than 2 cases. Moody AFB, Georgia, Scott AFB, Illinois, Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, and Nellis AFB, Nevada, each had 2, and Misawa AB, Japan, had 1. Together these installations account for 36% of the 25 cases.

Changes to the Law and the Article

Article 120 was rewritten in 2012 and amended again for offenses on or after January 1, 2019. Each case is charged under the version in force when the offense happened. Article 120 is also a covered offense. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses. When every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters.

These rules 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 whether either change affected these results.

What the Records Do Not Show

Air Force records never report plea agreements. The terms of these 25 guilty pleas, including any cap on confinement, are therefore unknown. The records also do not describe the evidence. They do not include allegations handled by nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action.

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.