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# Articles 119b and 128 in the Same Case: What the Records Show
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-119b-and-article-128-charged-together/
- Published: 2026-10-28T06:55:43.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-03T01:47:10.000Z
- Description: From 2013–2025, 35 Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial charged both Article 119b (child endangerment, numbered since 2019) and Article 128 (assault). The median confinement was 1.7 years, compared with 10 months for all Article 119b cases in those services.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Article 119b, Article 128

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Offense](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-offense/) › [Article 119b](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-119b-courts-martial/) › With Article 128

**Short answer:** From 2013–2025, 35 Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial charged both Article 119b (child endangerment, numbered since 2019) and Article 128 (assault). The median confinement was 1.7 years, compared with 10 months for all Article 119b cases in those services. 77% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 62%.

Based on 35 cases · 2013–2025 · Army, Navy, and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

## Longer Confinement Than Other Child Endangerment Cases

Cases that charged assault with child endangerment had longer sentences in these records. Of 33 convictions, 31 included confinement. The median confinement was 1.7 years. For all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 119b, the median was 10 months.

A quarter of the sentences here were 3.3 years or longer. These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case, not only the 2 charges named in the title.

## How Often Was Confinement Longer Than a Year?

Sentences longer than one year were given in 20 of 33 convictions (61%), compared with 35% in the comparison group. The table shows the detail. 13 convictions (39%) were more than 1 year and under 5 years, and 7 (21%) were 5 years or more. For all Article 119b cases, those shares were 24% and 11%.

Only 2 convictions included no confinement (6%), compared with 18% in the comparison group.

| Adjudged confinement            | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 119b |
| ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| No confinement                  | 2           | 6%         | 18%                                                                 |
| Under 6 months                  | 5           | 15%        | 26%                                                                 |
| 6 months to 1 year              | 6           | 18%        | 21%                                                                 |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 13          | 39%        | 24%                                                                 |
| 5 years or more                 | 7           | 21%        | 11%                                                                 |

## Most Cases Were General Courts-Martial

Of the 35 cases, 29 were general courts-martial (83%), compared with 67% for all Article 119b cases. Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement or a dishonorable discharge.

A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. It can impose a bad-conduct discharge. All 20 convictions with more than one year of confinement came from general courts-martial.

## Pleas and Contested Cases

The plea is listed in 28 of the 35 records: 15 guilty pleas and 13 contested cases. A contested case has a not-guilty or mixed plea to at least one charge. The contested share was 46%, about the same as the 44% for all Article 119b cases.

Of the 13 contested cases that reached a verdict, 15% ended in a full acquittal. That is lower than the 21% in the comparison group. Another 9 ended in a partial acquittal, where the accused was found not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another. Partial acquittals were the most common result of a contested case.

## Punitive Discharges

Of 31 convicted enlisted members, 24 received a punitive discharge: 16 bad-conduct discharges and 8 dishonorable discharges. That is the 77% in the short answer, compared with 62% for all Article 119b cases.

The records list 2 convicted officers or warrant officers. 1 of them was dismissed, which is the officer form of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

## NCOs Were a Large Share of the Accused

The accused were 16 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 17 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 2 officers or warrant officers. There were more NCOs than junior enlisted members, 17 compared with 16\. The records describe the mix as similar to all Article 119b cases, where 44% of the accused were junior enlisted.

## Domestic Violence and Threat Charges

Article 128b (domestic violence, numbered since 2019) was charged in 13 cases and Article 115 (malingering before 2019; communicating threats since) in 12\. Article 134 (general article) was charged in 8 and Article 120 (sexual assault) in 7\. When one of these charges led to a conviction, it is part of the sentence figures.

## Years and Installations

Trials took place from July 2013 to May 2025\. Before 2021, no year had more than 4 cases, and 2014 had 0\. There were 7 cases in 2021 and 8 in 2022\. After that there were 5 in 2023, 3 in 2024, and 1 in 2025.

Fort Bragg had 6 cases. Fort Riley and Camp Pendleton, California had 3 each, and Quantico, Virginia and Fort Polk had 2 each. These 5 installations account for 46% of the 35 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.

## Rule Changes and What the Records Do Not Show

The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019\. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses, which include domestic violence. The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They cannot show which rules applied to each case or whether either change affected outcomes.

With 35 cases, a few outcomes can change these percentages. The records also do not include the evidence, the plea terms, or cases resolved by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.

Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: [UCMJ change timeline](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/ucmj-change-timeline/).

### How We Counted

Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial that charged both Article 119b and Article 128 (35 cases). Air Force cases are left out because Air Force records rarely list the charges in acquittals.

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 119b (Child Endangerment, Numbered Since 2019): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-119b-courts-martial/) (hub)
- [Article 128 (Assault): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-128-courts-martial/) (hub)
- [Articles 119b and 128b in the Same Case: What the Records Show](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-119b-and-article-128b-charged-together/)
- [Articles 119b and 134 in the Same Case: What the Records Show](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-119b-and-article-134-charged-together/)
- [When Article 119b and Article 131b Are Charged Together, How Do Cases End?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-119b-and-article-131b-charged-together/)
- [Army Article 119b Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-119b-trend-2021-2025/)
- [Fewer or More? Child Endangerment Charges at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2017–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-119b-trend-2017-2025/)
- [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members)

**Compare: federal court.** [Aggravated Assault: Federal Sentences vs. Article 128 Courts-Martial, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-aggravated-assault-vs-article-128/)

**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.