Article 120c Sentences in the Army: Confinement and Discharges, 2021–2025

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Based on 43 cases · 2021–2025 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

How Much Confinement?

Every case in this post ended in a conviction on at least one charge, and every one included Article 120c among the charges. 39 of the 43 sentences included confinement (91%). The median confinement was 1.1 years, compared with 6 months for all Army convictions. The longest quarter of sentences were 2.5 years or more. 1 case ended in a life sentence.

All figures here are the adjudged sentences announced at trial. A plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal can change them later. Each sentence covers every charge in the case. Most cases here included charges other than Article 120c, so these figures are not sentences for a single recording or exposure charge.

Sentence Lengths

20 of 43 convictions (47%) were sentenced to more than one year, compared with 28% of all Army convictions. Sentences of more than 1 year and under 5 years made up 30%, compared with 20%. 7 convictions (16%) were sentenced to 5 years or more, compared with 8%.

4 convictions (9%) had no confinement, compared with 17%. 23% were sentenced to under 6 months, compared with 39%. Sentences of 6 months to 1 year made up 21%, compared with 16%.

Rank, Discharges, and Dismissals

By rank, the convicted included 21 junior enlisted members, 14 NCOs, and 7 officers. That mix is more senior than all Army convictions in those years. 5 of the 7 convicted officers or warrant officers were dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge.

31 of 35 convicted enlisted members received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (89%), compared with 73% Army-wide. 10 of those were dishonorable discharges. Even with no punitive discharge in the sentence, the Army can still separate a member administratively later.

Guilty Pleas and Contested Cases

31 of the 43 cases were guilty pleas and 12 were contested. A contested case is one where the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share was 28%, higher than the 21% for all Army convictions.

28 of the 31 guilty pleas are recorded with a plea agreement, and 3 have no entry. Army records say whether there was an agreement, not what it said. This post includes only cases that ended in a conviction, so it does not show full acquittals.

Of the 12 contested cases, 7 ended in a partial acquittal (58%): the accused was found not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another.

Who Decided Guilt

A military judge alone decided 39 cases, enlisted panels 3, and an officer panel 1. Members heard 9% of cases, slightly lower than the 12% for all Army convictions. Among contested cases, members heard 4 of 12 (33%).

The accused usually chooses whether a judge alone or a panel decides guilt. Most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas, so the split mostly follows the number of guilty pleas.

Other Charges and Court Level

Article 120c was the only charge in 11 of the 43 cases. Article 80 (attempt) was the most common other charge, in 13 cases. Article 120 (sexual assault) was charged in 9, Article 134 (the general article) in 7, Article 128 (assault) in 6, and Article 120b (child sexual abuse) in 4.

36 of 43 cases were general courts-martial (84%). A general court-martial can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. The rest were special courts-martial, which are capped at one year of confinement.

Years, Installations, and Rule Changes

Trial dates run from January 2021 to November 2025, with 11 cases in 2021, 4 in 2022, 7 in 2023, 13 in 2024, and 8 in 2025. Fort Hood (9), Joint Base Lewis-McChord (6), Fort Knox (5), Wheeler Army Airfield (3), and Fort Bliss (3) had the most cases. Together they account for 60% of the 43 cases. A large installation tries more cases of all types, and its count here does not show a problem with this offense at that base.

Article 120c is a covered offense. For covered offenses, the prosecution decision moved from commanders to special trial counsel on December 28, 2023. A second change applies to cases in which all guilty findings concern offenses after December 27, 2023: there, the military judge sentences within new sentencing parameters. Offense dates are not in these records, so the 2024 and 2025 trials are a mix of cases under each set of rules. Whether either change affected these sentences cannot be measured from the records.

What the Records Do Not Show

Article 140a required the services to publish trial records by December 2020. Few Army records in this data come from before 2021. The published records leave out the evidence and the terms of any plea agreement. Nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, and cases with no action never appear in them.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 120c on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.

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.