How Has Article 120b Changed in Air Force Courts-Martial Since 2016?

Trends › By Offense › Article 120b › Air Force

Based on 183 cases · 2016–2025 · Air Force records · data updated October 24, 2026

Confinement Was Measured in Years

96% of the 181 convictions in these cases included confinement. Half of those terms were 3 years or less. The median elsewhere in the Air Force was 4 months. A quarter of the terms here were 8 years or longer.

38% of convictions here were sentenced to 5 years or more, compared with 7% across the Air Force. 39% were sentenced to more than 1 year but under 5 years, compared with 16%. In all, 140 of 181 convictions (77%) were sentenced to more than one year, compared with 23% Air Force-wide. Under 6 months was the most common sentence range Air Force-wide, at 48%. Here it was 3%.

These are adjudged sentences, as announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. They cover every charge in a case. Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement, and general courts-martial heard 179 of the 183 cases (98%).

Almost Every Enlisted Conviction Included a Punitive Discharge

A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge for an enlisted member. For an officer, the equivalent is a dismissal. Here, 97% of enlisted convictions included a punitive discharge: 140 dishonorable and 28 bad-conduct discharges. In the rest of the Air Force, the share was 56%.

7 convicted officers or warrant officers appear in these cases, and all 7 were dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

More Cases, Fewer Cases, or About the Same?

There were 23 cases in 2016, 24 in 2017, and 34 in 2018, the highest yearly count. From 2019 through 2025, the yearly counts were 20, 14, 10, 13, 11, 15, and 19. The 183 cases are 7% of the 2,795 Air Force courts-martial in those years.

Case counts change with the total number of Air Force cases, so the share of convictions is a more consistent measure. In 2016–2018, Article 120b was part of 81 of 786 Air Force convictions (10%). In 2023–2025, it was part of 43 of 494 (9%), about the same share. The yearly share was lowest in 2021, at 5%, and highest in 2018, at 12%. It was 10% in 2025.

Pleas and Who Decided Guilt

Only 78 of the 183 records list a plea. Air Force records from 2016 to 2019 rarely list a guilty plea. Among those 78 cases, 32 were not-guilty or mixed pleas and 46 were guilty pleas. 41% were contested, meaning the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge. Air Force-wide, the contested share was 48%.

The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. Members heard 33% of cases with the forum listed: 29 enlisted panels and 31 officer panels. A military judge alone heard 122. Members heard 23 of the 32 contested cases (72%).

Which Other Offenses Were Charged?

93 of the 183 cases charged Article 120b by itself. When another article was charged, the most common was Article 134, the general article, in 65 cases. Article 120 (sexual assault) was charged in 20, Article 92 (orders violation) and Article 128 (assault) in 9 each, and Article 120c (indecent recording and exposure) in 6.

Where the Cases Were Tried

Kadena AB, Japan, had the most of these cases, with 13. Eglin AFB, Florida, had 9. Ramstein AB, Germany, and Scott AFB, Illinois, each had 8, and Keesler AFB, Mississippi, had 6. Together they account for 24% of the 183 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count alone does not mean a base has a problem with this offense.

Rank of the Accused

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) were 60% of the accused, NCOs were 37%, and officers were 4%. Across the Air Force as a whole, junior enlisted members were 62% of the accused. The rank mix here is similar to the Air Force overall.

Why This Post Has No Acquittal Rate

Air Force records rarely list the charges in a case that ends in a full acquittal. Only about one in six do. An acquittal rate for a single offense would therefore count too few acquittals, so this post does not give one. The Air Force posts that cover all offenses do report acquittals.

Law Changes and What the Records Do Not Show

The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. It set fixed panel sizes and required written plea agreements. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel rather than commanders decide whether to prosecute covered offenses, and Article 120b is a covered offense. These changes took effect during the period studied. The records cannot show whether they changed any figure here. The changes depend on offense dates, which the records do not give, so trials from 2024 on include cases under both the old and new rules.

The records cover only cases that went to a court-martial. They do not include nonjudicial punishment, administrative separations, or cases where no action was taken. They do not describe the evidence or any plea terms.

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.

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.