Army Child Sexual Abuse Cases Against Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4): Outcomes and Sentences
From 2021 through 2025, 124 Army courts-martial charged junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) under Article 120b (child sexual abuse). 27% of these cases were contested, compared with 40% in all Army Article 120b cases.
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Trends › By Offense › Article 120b › Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4)
Short answer: From 2021 through 2025, 124 Army courts-martial charged junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) under Article 120b (child sexual abuse). 27% of these cases were contested, compared with 40% in all Army Article 120b cases. The median confinement after a conviction was 2.5 years, lower than the 3.9 years for all Army Article 120b cases.
Most of These Cases Ended in a Guilty Plea
123 records list a plea. Of those, 90 were guilty pleas and 33 were contested. A contested case is one where the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge, by a not-guilty plea or a mixed plea.
The contested share was 27%, lower than the 40% in all Army Article 120b cases. 84 of the 90 guilty pleas are recorded with a plea agreement, and 6 have no entry. Army records say whether an agreement existed, not what it said.
Cases by Year
The 124 courts-martial were tried between January 2021 and December 2025. The yearly counts were 27 in 2021, 30 in 2022, 24 in 2023, 22 in 2024, and 21 in 2025.
No single year had far more or far fewer cases than the others.
How Much Confinement?
There were 116 convictions, and 97% of them included confinement. The median confinement was 2.5 years, compared with 3.9 years in all Army Article 120b cases. A quarter of the sentences were 8.5 years or longer.
34% of convictions here were sentenced to 5 years or more, compared with 44% in all Army Article 120b cases. Sentences between 6 months and 5 years were somewhat more common here. 85 of 116 convictions (73%) were sentenced to more than one year, about the same as the 76% in all Army Article 120b cases.
These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in the case, not only the Article 120b charge.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Army Article 120b cases |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 3 | 3% | 3% |
| Under 6 months | 8 | 7% | 6% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 20 | 17% | 15% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 45 | 39% | 32% |
| 5 years or more | 40 | 34% | 44% |
Punitive Discharges
97% of convicted enlisted members in this group received a punitive discharge: 30 bad-conduct discharges and 82 dishonorable discharges. In all Army Article 120b cases, the share was 95%.
Only a general court-martial can adjudge a dishonorable discharge or more than one year of confinement. A special court-martial is capped at one year and can impose a bad-conduct discharge at most. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
How Did Contested Cases End?
8 of 33 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal (24%). That is lower than the 32% in all Army Article 120b cases. 15 ended in a partial acquittal (45%), meaning not guilty of at least one charge or specification but guilty of another. Army results list findings charge by charge, which is why partial acquittals are common.
Members returned a full acquittal in 4 of 13 contested cases (31%). A military judge alone returned a full acquittal in 4 of 20 (20%). These counts are small. The records cannot show whether the forum affected the result.
Who Decided Guilt?
The accused usually chooses between a military judge alone and a panel of members. Here, 109 cases were judge alone. 12% of cases with the forum listed went to members: 14 enlisted panels and 1 officer panel.
Among contested cases, members heard 13 of 33 (39%). Most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas, so the overall split mostly follows the number of guilty pleas.
Other Charges in the Same Case
Article 120b was the only charge in 48 of 124 cases. The other cases included at least one other charge. The most common were Article 134 (general article) in 44, Article 128 (assault) in 14, Article 80 (attempt) in 12, Article 120 (sexual assault) in 12, and Article 82 (solicitation) in 9.
Where the Trials Took Place
Fort Campbell had the most cases, 13. Fort Drum had 12, Fort Hood 12, Fort Bragg 11, and Fort Stewart 10. Those five installations account for 47% of the 124 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.
Rule Changes and the Limits of the Records
Article 120b is a covered offense. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute these offenses. When every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. Both rules depend on the offense date. Trials from 2024 on therefore include cases under both the old and new rules.
The records list trial dates but not offense dates. They do not describe the evidence or the plea terms. They do not include cases handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation. Army records in this data are sparse before 2021, and this post starts with 2021.
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 tried 2021–2025 that charged junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) under Article 120b (124 cases), compared with every Army Article 120b case.
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)
- Army Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- NCOs (E-5 to E-9) Charged Under Article 120b in the Army
- Air Force Child Sexual Abuse Cases Against Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4): Outcomes and Sentences
- NCOs (E-5 to E-9) Charged Under Article 120b in the Air Force
- Fewer or More? Child Sexual Abuse Charges at Army Courts-Martial, 2021–2025
- How Has Article 120b Changed in Air Force Courts-Martial Since 2016?
- 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.