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# Pleading Guilty to Article 120b in the Army: What Sentences Followed?
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-120b-plea-2021-2025/
- Published: 2026-10-28T08:06:02.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-03T01:47:00.000Z
- Description: Army records show 118 guilty-plea courts-martial from 2021 through 2025 that included Article 120b (child sexual abuse). The median confinement was 3 years, compared with 5 months for all Army guilty pleas.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Article 120b, Army

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Offense](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-offense/) › [Article 120b](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-120b-courts-martial/) › Pleading Guilty to Article 120b in the A

**Short answer:** Army records show 118 guilty-plea courts-martial from 2021 through 2025 that included Article 120b (child sexual abuse). The median confinement was 3 years, compared with 5 months for all Army guilty pleas. 97% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 75% for all Army guilty pleas.

Based on 118 cases · 2021–2025 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

## How Much Confinement Followed a Guilty Plea?

117 of 118 sentences included confinement (99%). The median confinement was 3 years. The median for all Army guilty pleas in those years was 5 months. A quarter of these sentences were 9 years or longer.

These are adjudged sentences, as announced at trial. A plea agreement can cap the confinement actually served, and clemency or appeal can change it. None of that appears in these figures. Each sentence covers every charge in the case.

## Sentence Lengths

87 of 118 convictions (74%) were sentenced to more than one year, compared with 24% for all Army guilty pleas. 45 convictions (38%) were sentenced to 5 years or more, compared with 6%. 42 convictions (36%) were sentenced to more than 1 year and under 5 years, compared with 17%.

Short sentences were less common. 9 convictions (8%) were sentenced to under 6 months, compared with 44% for all Army guilty pleas. 1 conviction had no confinement. Sentences of 6 months to 1 year were 18% in both groups.

| Adjudged confinement            | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Army guilty pleas in those years |
| ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------- |
| No confinement                  | 1           | 1%         | 14%                                         |
| Under 6 months                  | 9           | 8%         | 44%                                         |
| 6 months to 1 year              | 21          | 18%        | 18%                                         |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 42          | 36%        | 17%                                         |
| 5 years or more                 | 45          | 38%        | 6%                                          |

## Court Level

116 of the 117 cases with a court level listed were general courts-martial (99%), compared with 68% for all Army guilty pleas. The court level is not listed for 1 case. Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement or a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial is capped at one year.

In almost every case, the court could impose any lawful sentence, including a dishonorable discharge.

## Punitive Discharges and Dismissals

97% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge. 79 were dishonorable discharges, the most severe form, and 32 were bad-conduct discharges. For all Army guilty pleas in those years, the share was 75%.

4 officers or warrant officers were convicted, and all 4 were dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

## Other Charges in the Same Cases

70 of the 118 cases charged at least one other article. Article 134 (general article) was the most common other charge, in 39 cases. Article 80 (attempt) appeared in 13, Article 82 (solicitation) in 10, Article 128 (assault) in 8, and Article 131b (obstruction) in 7.

A sentence covers every charge, so the sentences above include these other convictions. The records do not divide a sentence among the charges or describe the underlying facts.

## Rank and the Decision-Maker

90 accused were junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 24 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 4 were officers or warrant officers. The group was more junior than all Army guilty pleas, where 60% were junior enlisted.

A military judge alone decided 116 cases. Enlisted panels heard 2, and officer panels 0\. Members heard 2% of these cases, compared with 0% for all Army guilty pleas. The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members hears the case, and most guilty pleas go to a judge alone.

## Cases by Year and Installation

The records show 25 cases in 2021, 25 in 2022, 22 in 2023, 21 in 2024, and 25 in 2025\. The yearly counts were similar across the period.

Fort Bragg had the most cases, 13\. Fort Campbell had 12, Fort Hood and Fort Polk 10 each, and Fort Drum 9\. Those five installations account for 46% of the 118 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.

## A Covered Offense Under the New System

Article 120b is a covered offense. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute it. 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 rules depend on the offense date, and the records give only trial dates. Trials from 2024 on therefore include old-rule and new-rule cases. The records cannot show whether either change affected sentences. The services were required to begin publishing trial records under Article 140a by December 2020, and Army records in this data are sparse before 2021.

## What the Records Do Not Show

These records do not describe the evidence or the plea terms. Cases resolved by nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action do not appear.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see [Article 120b on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-120b/?ref=bodiesburied.com). Dates and sources for the law changes: [UCMJ change timeline](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/ucmj-change-timeline/).

### How We Counted

Army courts-martial tried 2021–2025: where the accused pleaded guilty to charges including Article 120b (child sexual abuse) (118 cases), compared with all Army guilty pleas in those years.

Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in [Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/), data updated October 24, 2026\. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: [how this data was built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/how-the-military-trial-results-data-was-built/). Errors: content@bodiesburied.com.

## Related Analysis

- [Article 120b (Rape and Sexual Assault of a Child): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-120b-courts-martial/) (hub)
- [Sentences](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/sentences/) (hub)
- [Fewer or More? Child Sexual Abuse Charges at Army Courts-Martial, 2021–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-120b-trend-2021-2025/)
- [How Much Confinement for an Article 120b Conviction in the Army?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-120b-sent-2021-2025/)
- [How Often Are Contested Army Article 120b Cases Acquitted?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-120b-acq-2021-2025/)
- [Guilty Pleas in Air Force Child Sexual Abuse Cases: How Often, and What Came Next](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-120b-plea-2016-2025/) (another service)
- [Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Child Sexual Abuse Cases: How Often, and What Came Next](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-120b-plea-2017-2025/) (another service)
- [Article 120b explained on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-120b/?ref=bodiesburied.com)
- [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members)

**Compare: federal court.** [Child Sexual Abuse and Enticement: Federal Sentences vs. Army Courts-Martial](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-child-sex-offenses-vs-army/)

**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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.