Officers Charged Under Article 120 in the Army

Trends › By Offense › Article 120 › Officers

Based on 40 cases · 2021–2025 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

Few Officers Pleaded Guilty

Only 6 of the 40 accused officers pleaded guilty. The other 34 entered a not-guilty or mixed plea, so 85% of the cases were contested, compared with 71% across all Army Article 120 cases.

A contested case is one in which the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Most cases in this group were decided after a trial on the merits.

Results of the Contested Cases

Of the 34 contested cases that reached a verdict, 13 ended in a full acquittal, a finding of not guilty on every charge. That 38% rate is lower than the 45% across all Army Article 120 cases.

Another 16 ended in a partial acquittal: not guilty of at least one charge or specification but guilty of another. Army results list findings charge by charge, so partial acquittals are common in Army data. With 34 cases, a few verdicts can change these rates.

Officer Panels Decided Most Cases

Members heard 24 of the 38 cases with the forum listed, all of them officer panels. A military judge alone decided the other 14 (37%). Among contested cases, members heard 24 of 32 (75%).

The accused usually chooses whether a judge alone or members decide guilt. Most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas, and this group had a high contested share.

More Terms With No Confinement and More Terms of 5 Years or More

The records show 27 convictions, and 17 included confinement. The median term was 1.5 years, shorter than the 1.8 years across all Army Article 120 cases. A quarter of the terms were 13.7 years or longer.

No confinement made up 37% of officer convictions, compared with 13% service-wide. Terms of 5 years or more made up 26%, compared with 18%. The middle bands were less common. Terms of 6 months to 1 year made up 4%, compared with 14%. Terms of more than 1 year but under 5 years made up 11%, compared with 38%.

Overall, 10 of 27 convictions (37%) included more than one year, compared with 56%. Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement. A special court-martial is limited to one year. These are adjudged sentences covering every charge in the case, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.

Other Charges, Including Conduct Unbecoming

Article 120 was the only charge in 10 of the 40 cases; across all Army Article 120 cases, 186 of 491 were charged that way. Article 128 (assault) was the most common other charge, in 13 cases. Article 134 (general article) appeared in 9, Article 133 (conduct unbecoming) in 8, Article 128b (domestic violence) in 6, and Article 120b (child sexual abuse) in 5.

Article 133 applies only to commissioned officers, cadets, and midshipmen. A sentence covers every charge, so the terms above include any other offenses, such as child sexual abuse, along with the Article 120 charge. The records do not divide a sentence among charges.

Years and Installations

The trials took place from January 2021 to November 2025: 10 in 2021, 8 in 2022, 7 in 2023, 6 in 2024, and 9 in 2025. Army records in this data are sparse before 2021, after the services were required to begin publishing trial records under Article 140a by December 2020.

Fort Bragg tried 10 of the 40 cases, Fort Drum 4, and Fort Hood, Fort Bliss, and Fort Stewart 3 each. Together they tried 58% of the cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.

All 40 accused were officers or warrant officers, so this group is more senior than all Army Article 120 cases.

Rules and What the Records Omit

Article 120 is a covered offense. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute it. Judges set sentences under new parameters when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. The records give trial dates only, so trials from 2024 on include cases under both sets of rules.

This page reports no dismissal rate or court-level split for officers. The records also omit the evidence, plea terms, and allegations handled by nonjudicial punishment, administrative action, 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. Army Courts-Martial

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.