How Air Force Child Sexual Abuse Cases Ended in 2016
The records hold 23 Air Force courts-martial from 2016 that charged Article 120b (child sexual abuse). All 23 sentences included confinement, with a median of 1.5 years, compared with 4 months for all Air Force cases in 2016.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 5 min read
Trends › By Offense › Article 120b › Air Force, 2016
Short answer: The records hold 23 Air Force courts-martial from 2016 that charged Article 120b (child sexual abuse). All 23 sentences included confinement, with a median of 1.5 years, compared with 4 months for all Air Force cases in 2016. 100% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 54%.
Every Sentence Included Confinement
23 of 23 convictions (100%) included confinement. The median term was 1.5 years, and a quarter of the terms were 5 years or longer. Across all Air Force cases in 2016, the median was 4 months.
Each sentence is the one adjudged at trial. A plea-agreement cap, clemency, or an appeal could change it later. The sentence also covers every charge in the case, including any charge other than Article 120b.
How the Terms Were Spread
15 of 23 convictions (65%) were sentenced to more than one year, compared with 20% of all Air Force cases in 2016. 9 (39%) were sentenced to more than 1 year but under 5 years, and 6 (26%) to 5 years or more.
7 convictions (30%) were sentenced to 6 months to 1 year. Only 1 (4%) was under 6 months, the band that held 44% of all Air Force convictions that year. 0 had no confinement.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Air Force cases in 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 0 | 0% | 15% |
| Under 6 months | 1 | 4% | 44% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 7 | 30% | 20% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 9 | 39% | 13% |
| 5 years or more | 6 | 26% | 7% |
All Enlisted Convictions Ended in a Punitive Discharge
22 of 22 convicted enlisted members (100%) received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. 17 of those were dishonorable. Across all Air Force cases in 2016, 54% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge.
The 1 convicted officer or warrant officer was dismissed, the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge.
Court Level
20 of the 23 cases were general courts-martial (87%), and the rest were special courts-martial. A general court-martial has no one-year limit on confinement and can impose a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial can impose neither.
Most Cases Were Decided Without Members
A military judge alone decided 13 of the cases. Enlisted panels decided 5 and officer panels decided 5. Members heard 43% of the cases, close to the 45% across all Air Force cases in 2016.
Air Force records from 2016 to 2019 rarely list a guilty plea. The share of these cases that were contested is not available.
Rank and Other Charges
The accused were 14 junior enlisted members, 8 NCOs, and 1 officer, a more senior group than all Air Force cases in 2016.
12 of the 23 cases charged at least one other article. Article 134 (general article) was the most common, in 10 cases. Article 128 (assault), Article 92 (orders violation), Article 112a (drug), and Article 120 (sexual assault) were each charged in 1.
Installations
Kadena AB, Japan, tried 4 of these cases. Robins AFB, Georgia, and Ramstein AB, Germany, tried 3 each, Misawa AB, Japan, tried 2, and JB Charleston, South Carolina, tried 1. These five installations account for 57% of the 23 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.
Timing and Limits
The records place these trials between April 2016 and September 2016. All came before the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019, so its panel rules, judge-alone special courts-martial, and written plea agreements did not apply.
Trial dates are not offense dates. Air Force records rarely list the charges in a full acquittal, so no acquittal rate is shown. Plea agreements, the evidence, and cases handled outside a court-martial are not in the records.
For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 120b on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Air Force courts-martial with a trial date in 2016 that charged Article 120b (23 cases), compared with all Air Force cases that year and with 2015.
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 120b (Rape and Sexual Assault of a Child): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Year (hub)
- Child Sexual Abuse at Air Force Courts-Martial, 2017: The Year in Numbers (previous / next)
- How Has Article 120b Changed in Air Force Courts-Martial Since 2016? (the full trend)
- Child Sexual Abuse at Air Force Courts-Martial, 2019: The Year in Numbers
- Child Sexual Abuse at Air Force Courts-Martial, 2020: The Year in Numbers
- How Air Force Child Sexual Abuse Cases Ended in 2018
- Army Article 120b Cases in 2023
- How Much Confinement for an Article 120b Conviction in the Air Force?
- Article 120b explained on the law firm's website
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Compare: federal court. Child Sexual Abuse and Enticement: 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.