Guilty Pleas in Air Force Child Sexual Abuse Cases: How Often, and What Came Next
The records include 46 Air Force courts-martial from 2016–2025 in which the accused pleaded guilty and the charges included Article 120b (child sexual abuse). The median adjudged confinement was 3 years, compared with 4 months across all Air Force guilty pleas.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 5 min read
Trends › By Offense › Article 120b › Guilty Pleas in Air Force Child Sexual A
Short answer: The records include 46 Air Force courts-martial from 2016–2025 in which the accused pleaded guilty and the charges included Article 120b (child sexual abuse). The median adjudged confinement was 3 years, compared with 4 months across all Air Force guilty pleas. 98% of enlisted convictions included a punitive discharge, compared with 60%.
Much Longer Sentences Than Other Guilty Pleas
This post covers only Air Force guilty pleas in which a child sexual abuse charge under Article 120b was part of the case. Compared with all Air Force guilty pleas, these cases had longer confinement and more punitive discharges on almost every measure in the records.
45 of 46 convictions included confinement. The median confinement was 3 years. The median across all Air Force guilty pleas was 4 months. A quarter of the terms in this group were 6.6 years or longer. These are adjudged sentences, as announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case.
Most Sentences Were Longer Than One Year
40 of 46 convictions (87%) were sentenced to more than one year, compared with 22% across Air Force guilty pleas. 48% of these convictions were sentenced to more than 1 year and under 5 years, compared with 17%. 18 convictions (39%) were sentenced to 5 years or more, compared with 5%.
Few sentences were short. Only 1 conviction (2%) had no confinement, compared with 7% Air Force-wide. Only 1 (2%) was sentenced to under 6 months, compared with 55%. 9% were sentenced to 6 months to 1 year, compared with 16%.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Air Force guilty pleas in those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 1 | 2% | 7% |
| Under 6 months | 1 | 2% | 55% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 4 | 9% | 16% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 22 | 48% | 17% |
| 5 years or more | 18 | 39% | 5% |
Most Punitive Discharges Were Dishonorable
98% of enlisted convictions in this group included a punitive discharge, compared with 60% across Air Force guilty pleas. There were 36 dishonorable discharges and 8 bad-conduct discharges. A dishonorable discharge is the most severe discharge a court-martial can adjudge for enlisted members.
The records list 1 convicted officer or warrant officer, and that officer was dismissed. A dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Almost All Cases Were General Courts-Martial
45 of the 46 cases were general courts-martial, and 1 was a special court-martial. The general court-martial share was 98%, compared with 43% across Air Force guilty pleas. 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 adjudge a dishonorable discharge.
A military judge alone decided all 46 cases. Members heard 0% of all Air Force guilty pleas, so this is the same as for guilty pleas generally.
Other Charges in These Cases
In 26 of the 46 cases, at least one other article was charged. Article 134 (the general article) was the most common, in 20 cases. Article 120 (sexual assault) was charged in 5, Article 128 (assault) in 4, Article 131b (obstruction, numbered since 2019) in 3, and Article 92 (orders violation) in 2.
A sentence covers every charge, so the records cannot show how much of any sentence was for the Article 120b charge.
Who Pleaded Guilty, and Where
Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) were 61% of the accused, NCOs were 37%, and officers were 2%. Across Air Force guilty pleas, junior enlisted members were 68%, so this group was somewhat more senior.
No base had more than 3 cases. Ramstein AB, Germany, and Keesler AFB, Mississippi, each had 3. Yokota AB, Japan, Shaw AFB, South Carolina, and Moody AFB, Georgia, each had 2. Together these bases account for 26% of the cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.
Why the Count Starts in 2020
The period begins in 2016, but the first case was tried in April 2020. There were 0 cases each year from 2016 through 2019. There were 8 in 2020, 8 in 2021, 8 in 2022, 7 in 2023, 6 in 2024, and 9 in 2025. Air Force records from 2016 to 2019 rarely list a guilty plea, so guilty pleas from those years cannot be identified.
Article 120b is 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. Both depend on offense dates, 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 sentences.
What the Records Do Not Show
The records show charges, pleas, findings, and sentences. They do not describe the evidence. Air Force records never report plea agreements, so any limit an agreement set on confinement is unknown. Conduct handled outside a court-martial does not appear.
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 tried 2016–2025: where the accused pleaded guilty to charges including Article 120b (child sexual abuse) (46 cases), compared with all Air Force guilty pleas 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 120b (Rape and Sexual Assault of a Child): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Sentences (hub)
- How Has Article 120b Changed in Air Force Courts-Martial Since 2016?
- How Much Confinement for an Article 120b Conviction in the Air Force?
- Pleading Guilty to Article 120b in the Army: What Sentences Followed? (another service)
- Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Child Sexual Abuse Cases: How Often, and What Came Next (another service)
- Guilty Pleas in Air Force Disobeying An Officer Cases: How Often, and What Came Next
- 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.