Articles 120 and 93 in the Same Case: What the Records Show
28 Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial from 2013–2025 charged both sexual assault under Article 120 and maltreatment under Article 93. 22 of the 28 accused were NCOs, a more senior group than in Article 120 cases overall.
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Trends › By Offense › Article 120 › With Article 93
Short answer: 28 Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial from 2013–2025 charged both sexual assault under Article 120 and maltreatment under Article 93. 22 of the 28 accused were NCOs, a more senior group than in Article 120 cases overall. 78% of the cases were contested, and 43% of the contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal, compared with 49% across all Article 120 cases in those services.
Mostly NCOs
By rank, 3 of the accused were junior enlisted members, 22 were NCOs, and 3 were officers. This group was more senior than all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 120.
Most Cases Were Contested
The plea is listed for 27 of the 28 cases. 21 accused contested at least one charge, and 6 pleaded guilty. The contested share was 78%, compared with 69% across all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 120. A contested case is one with a not-guilty or mixed plea.
Verdicts in Contested Cases
21 contested cases reached a verdict. 43% of them ended in a full acquittal, meaning not guilty of every charge. Across all Article 120 cases in these services, the full-acquittal rate was 49%, so it was lower here.
Another 11 contested cases ended in a partial acquittal. A partial acquittal means not guilty of at least one charge or specification but guilty of another.
Confinement for Those Convicted
19 cases ended in a conviction, and 13 of those sentences included confinement. The median confinement was 2.7 years, longer than the 2 years across all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 120. A quarter of the terms were 5.1 years or longer.
These are adjudged sentences, as announced at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case, not only Article 120 and Article 93.
Fewer Punitive Discharges
A punitive discharge followed 56% of enlisted convictions in this group: 1 bad-conduct discharge and 8 dishonorable discharges. Across all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 120, the share was 82%.
3 convicted officers or warrant officers appear in these records, and 1 was dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge or dismissal does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Court Level and Other Charges
General courts-martial made up 79% of these cases (22 of 28). Special courts-martial made up the rest. A general court-martial can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge or dismissal. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
No case charged Article 120 alone. Article 93 appears in all 28 by definition. Article 128, assault, appeared in 15 cases, Article 92, orders violation, in 11, Article 134, the general article, in 8, and Article 107, false official statement, in 5.
Trial Years and Installations
The cases were tried from July 2013 to October 2025. Most came in 2021 (8) and 2022 (9). There were 3 in 2023, 3 in 2024, and 1 in 2025. Earlier years had few: 1 in 2013, 2 in 2015, and 1 in 2018.
Fort Campbell had the most cases (4). Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Camp Humphreys, Fort Knox, and Fort Drum had 3 each. These five installations account for 57% of the 28 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count alone does not say anything about a base.
Law Changes and Missing Information
Article 120 was rewritten in 2012 and amended again for offenses on or after January 1, 2019. Each case is charged under the version in force when the offense happened. The Military Justice Act of 2016 also took effect on January 1, 2019. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses, and Article 120 is one of them.
The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so they cannot show which version of the law or which rules applied to each case. They also do not describe the evidence or the plea terms, and they leave out nonjudicial punishment and administrative separations.
For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 120 on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial that charged both Article 120 and Article 93 (28 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, data updated October 24, 2026. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: how this data was built. Errors: content@bodiesburied.com.
Related Analysis
- Article 120 (Rape and Sexual Assault): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Article 93 (Cruelty and Maltreatment): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Articles 120 and 128 in the Same Case: What the Records Show
- Articles 120 and 134 in the Same Case: What the Records Show
- When Article 120 and Article 120b Are Charged Together, How Do Cases End?
- Fewer or More? Sexual Assault Charges at Army Courts-Martial, 2021–2025
- Is Air Force Sexual Assault Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 120, 2016–2025
- Article 120 explained on the law firm's website
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Compare: federal court. Sexual Abuse of an Adult: Federal Cases vs. Article 120 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. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.