> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # When Article 119b and Article 131b Are Charged Together, How Do Cases End? - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-119b-and-article-131b-charged-together/ - Published: 2026-10-30T08:16:25.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-03T01:44:56.000Z - Description: In 2015–2025, 12 Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial charged both Article 119b (child endangerment, numbered since 2019) and Article 131b (obstruction, numbered since 2019). - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Article 119b, Article 131b [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 131b **Short answer:** In 2015–2025, 12 Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial charged both Article 119b (child endangerment, numbered since 2019) and Article 131b (obstruction, numbered since 2019). 70% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 62% in all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 119b. The median confinement was 1.3 years, compared with 10 months for Article 119b cases overall. Based on 12 cases · 2015–2025 · Army, Navy, and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026 ## Discharges and Dismissals A punitive discharge followed 70% of enlisted convictions: 4 bad-conduct discharges and 3 dishonorable discharges. In all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 119b, the share was 62%. The group includes 2 convicted officers or warrant officers, and 1 of them was dismissed, the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation. ## Confinement Of 12 convictions, 9 carried confinement. The middle sentence was 1.3 years, longer than the 10 months for all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 119b. Among the sentences that included confinement, a quarter were 1.7 years or longer. The terms are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers every charge in its case. ## Court Level and Rank General courts-martial made up 83% of these cases (10 of 12), and special courts-martial made up the rest. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 58% of the accused, NCOs 25%, and officers 17%. In all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 119b, junior enlisted members were 44%. ## Pleas The plea is listed in 10 of the 12 records: 5 accused pleaded guilty and 5 contested at least one charge with a not-guilty or mixed plea. That is 50% contested, compared with 44% in all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 119b. ## Domestic Violence and Assault Charges Article 119b was never the only charge, and Article 131b appears in all 12 cases. Article 128b (domestic violence, numbered since 2019) and Article 128 (assault) were each charged in 7 cases, and Article 90 (disobeying an officer) and Article 92 (orders violation) in 2 each. ## Years, Rules, and Limits The trials ran from November 2015 through October 2025\. By year: 2015: 1, 2016: 0, 2017: 0, 2018: 1, 2019: 0, 2020: 1, 2021: 3, 2022: 2, 2023: 1, 2024: 1, and 2025: 2. Under the Military Justice Act of 2016, in effect since January 1, 2019, panel sizes became fixed and written plea agreements began; cases with earlier offenses kept the old rules. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as domestic violence. Both changes turn on offense dates, and the records list trial dates. Nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, the evidence, and plea terms are not in these records. 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 131b (12 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 131b (Obstruction, Numbered Since 2019): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-131b-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 128 in the Same Case: What the Records Show](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-119b-and-article-128-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/) - [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.** [Obstruction of Justice and Perjury: Federal vs. Court-Martial Sentences](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-obstruction-perjury-vs-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](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.