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# Guilty Pleas in Army Solicitation Cases: How Often, and What Came Next
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-82-plea-2021-2025/
- Published: 2026-10-28T06:33:38.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-30T08:05:02.000Z
- Description: The records hold 25 Army courts-martial from 2021–2025 in which the accused pleaded guilty and the charges included Article 82 (solicitation). The median adjudged confinement was 2.2 years, compared with 5 months in all Army guilty pleas.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Article 82, Army

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Offense](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-offense/) › [Article 82](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-82-courts-martial/) › Guilty Pleas in Army Solicitation Cases:

**Short answer:** The records hold 25 Army courts-martial from 2021–2025 in which the accused pleaded guilty and the charges included Article 82 (solicitation). The median adjudged confinement was 2.2 years, compared with 5 months in all Army guilty pleas. Of 24 convicted enlisted members, 22 received a punitive discharge, compared with 75% across Army guilty pleas.

Based on 25 cases · 2021–2025 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

## Longer Sentences Than Most Army Guilty Pleas

This post covers only guilty pleas in which a solicitation charge under Article 82 was part of the case. On every sentence measure in the records, these pleas ended in heavier sentences than Army guilty pleas overall.

Of 25 convictions, 24 included confinement. The median confinement was 2.2 years, compared with 5 months for Army guilty pleas generally. A quarter of sentences were 7.5 years or longer. These are adjudged sentences, announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in the case.

## Child Sexual Abuse Charges in Many Cases

Only 2 of the 25 cases charged Article 82 by itself. Article 134 (the general article) appeared in 12 cases and Article 120b (child sexual abuse) in 10\. Article 80 (attempt) and Article 112a (drug offenses) each appeared in 4 cases, and Article 119b (child endangerment) in 2.

The records do not split a sentence by article. The sentence figures in this post describe the whole case, including any child sexual abuse or attempt charges, not the solicitation charge alone.

## Most Sentences Were Longer Than One Year

Sentences longer than one year were adjudged in 16 of 25 convictions (64%), compared with 24% across Army guilty pleas. Sentences of more than 1 year and under 5 years made up 40% of these convictions, compared with 17%. Sentences of 5 years or more made up 24%, compared with 6%.

Shorter sentences were less common. Only 1 conviction (4%) had no confinement, compared with 14% Army-wide. Terms under 6 months made up 16%, compared with 44%. Terms of 6 months to 1 year were about the same as the Army rate: 16% compared with 18%.

| Adjudged confinement            | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Army guilty pleas in those years |
| ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------- |
| No confinement                  | 1           | 4%         | 14%                                         |
| Under 6 months                  | 4           | 16%        | 44%                                         |
| 6 months to 1 year              | 4           | 16%        | 18%                                         |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 10          | 40%        | 17%                                         |
| 5 years or more                 | 6           | 24%        | 6%                                          |

## Almost All Tried at General Courts-Martial

Of the 25 cases, 23 were tried at a general court-martial and 2 at a special court-martial. The general share was 92%, higher than the 68% across Army guilty pleas.

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. Because almost every case here was a general court-martial, almost every case could carry the full range of punishments.

## More Dishonorable Than Bad-Conduct Discharges

Of 24 convicted enlisted members, 22 received a punitive discharge: 15 dishonorable and 7 bad-conduct. The share across all Army guilty pleas was 75%. A dishonorable discharge is the most severe discharge a court-martial can adjudge for an enlisted member, and only a general court-martial can impose it.

The records list 1 convicted officer or warrant officer, who was not dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

## Forum and Rank

A military judge alone decided all 25 cases. No case went to a panel of members. Most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas, and every case here was a guilty plea.

By rank, the accused were 16 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 8 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 1 officer or warrant officer. Army guilty pleas overall were 60% junior enlisted, so this group was more junior.

## When and Where the Cases Were Tried

The cases were tried from March 2021 to February 2025\. There were 4 in 2021, 9 in 2022, 4 in 2023, 5 in 2024, and 3 in 2025\. Public trial records under Article 140a began in December 2020, and Army data starts then.

Fort Hood had the most of these cases (4). Fort Carson, Fort Wainwright, and Joint Base Lewis-McChord had 3 each, and Wheeler Army Airfield had 2\. Those five installations had 60% of the 25 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.

## Changes in the Rules

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered 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, which the records do not give, so trials from 2024 on include cases under both old and new rules. The records cannot show whether either change affected any case in this group.

## Limits of the Data

Only cases that reached a courtroom appear. Nonjudicial punishment and administrative separations are not included. The records do not describe the evidence, the facts of any solicitation, or the terms of any plea agreement.

Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: [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 82 (solicitation) (25 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 82 (Soliciting): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-82-courts-martial/) (hub)
- [Sentences](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/sentences/) (hub)
- [Army Article 82 Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-82-trend-2021-2025/)
- [How Much Confinement for an Article 82 Conviction in the Army?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-82-sent-2021-2025/)
- [When Navy-Marine Corps Accused Plead Guilty to Solicitation](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-82-plea-2017-2025/) (another service)
- [Guilty Pleas in Army Child Endangerment Cases: How Often, and What Came Next](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-119b-plea-2021-2025/)
- [Guilty Pleas in Army Communicating Threats Cases: How Often, and What Came Next](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-115-plea-2021-2025/)
- [Guilty Pleas in Army Conspiracy Cases: How Often, and What Came Next](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-81-plea-2021-2025/)
- [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members)

**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.