Article 120b With Article 82 in the Army: What the Records Show
12 Army courts-martial from 2021–2026 charged both child sexual abuse under Article 120b and solicitation under Article 82.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 4 min read
Trends › By Offense › Article 120b › Army, with Article 82
Short answer: 12 Army courts-martial from 2021–2026 charged both child sexual abuse under Article 120b and solicitation under Article 82. Every case was decided by a military judge alone, every sentence included confinement, and the median confinement was 6 years, compared with 4.1 years for all Army Article 120b cases.
A Median of 6 Years of Confinement
Of 12 convictions, 12 carried confinement. The median confinement was 6 years, longer than the 4.1 years in Army-wide Article 120b cases. A quarter of the sentences were 9.3 years or longer.
The figures are adjudged sentences. They come before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and they cover every charge in the case.
10 Dishonorable Discharges
12 of 12 convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge: 10 dishonorable and 2 bad-conduct. In all Army Article 120b cases in 2021–2026, the share was 96%. A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge for enlisted members. Only a general court-martial can adjudge a dishonorable discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Guilty Pleas and Plea Agreements
The records list 12 guilty pleas in this group. 10 are recorded with a plea agreement, and 2 have no entry. Army records say whether there was an agreement, not what it said.
0% of the cases with the forum listed went to members. A military judge alone decided all 12. The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt.
Charges Alongside Article 120b
Every case charged at least 1 other article. Besides Article 82, Article 134, the general article, appeared in 7 cases. Article 80, attempt, and Article 90, disobeying an officer, each appeared in 2. Article 119b, child endangerment, appeared in 1.
Rank of the Accused
The accused were 10 junior enlisted members and 2 NCOs. No officers appear. The group was more junior than Army Article 120b cases overall.
Trial Years
The trials ran from May 2021 to September 2026: 2 in 2021, 5 in 2022, 1 in 2023, 2 in 2024, 0 in 2025, and 2 in 2026, a partial year. Army records in this data are sparse before 2021.
Rule Changes and Their Limits
Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. When every guilty finding in a case is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. Both changes turn on the offense date, which these records do not give, so the trials from 2024 on mix old-rule and new-rule cases.
What the Records Leave Out
The records show the charges, pleas, findings, and sentence. They do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or conduct handled outside a court-martial, such as nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation. The records for this group also do not report the court level.
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
Army courts-martial with trial dates in 2021–2026 that charged both Article 120b and Article 82 (12 cases), compared with all 222 Army Article 120b cases 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)
- Article 82 (Soliciting): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Army Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- Army Cases Charging Both Article 120b and Article 128
- Army Cases Charging Both Article 120b and Article 128b
- Army Courts-Martial With Article 120b and Article 134, 2021–2026
- Army Courts-Martial With Article 120b and Article 92, 2021–2025
- Article 120b With Article 131b in the Army: What the Records Show
- Article 120b With Article 80 in the Army: What the Records Show
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial With Article 120b and Article 134, 2021–2026
- 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. 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.