Article 120b Across the Services: Cases, Pleas, and Sentences, 2021–2025
Almost every enlisted member convicted in an Article 120b (child sexual abuse) case from 2021–2025 received a punitive discharge: 96%, compared with 65% across all courts-martial in those years. The median confinement was 3.8 years, compared with 6 months overall.
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Trends › By Offense › Article 120b › Across the services
Short answer: Almost every enlisted member convicted in an Article 120b (child sexual abuse) case from 2021–2025 received a punitive discharge: 96%, compared with 65% across all courts-martial in those years. The median confinement was 3.8 years, compared with 6 months overall. The records hold 361 Article 120b cases in the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps.
Punitive Discharges in Nearly Every Conviction
The Navy-Marine Corps imposed a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge on 98% of its 83 convicted enlisted members in these cases. The Army and the Air Force each did so for 95%, out of 162 and 63 members. Across all courts-martial in the same years, 65% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge.
For an officer, the equivalent of a punitive discharge is a dismissal. The service tables here report enlisted members only.
| Service | Convicted enlisted members | Punitive discharge | General court-martial share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Army | 162 | 95% | 99% |
| Air Force | 63 | 95% | 100% |
| Navy-Marine Corps | 83 | 98% | 92% |
Tried Almost Only at General Courts-Martial
The Air Force tried 100% of its Article 120b cases at a general court-martial. The Army share was 99%, and the Navy-Marine Corps share was 92%. A general court-martial is the only level that can impose more than one year of confinement or a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year.
Multi-Year Sentences in Each Service
The median confinement was 3.9 years in the Army, from 172 convictions. It was 3.8 years in the Air Force, from 66 convictions, and 3.2 years in the Navy-Marine Corps, from 85 convictions. Confinement was part of 97% of Army sentences and 98% of the sentences in the Air Force and the Navy-Marine Corps. Across all three services, the median of 3.8 years compares with a median of 6 months for all courts-martial in those years.
Sentences longer than 1 year made up 83% of Air Force convictions, 76% of Army convictions, and 72% of Navy-Marine Corps convictions. Each sentence is the one adjudged at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and it covers every charge in the case.
| Service | Convictions | Included confinement | Median confinement | More than 1 year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army | 172 | 97% | 3.9 years | 76% |
| Air Force | 66 | 98% | 3.8 years | 83% |
| Navy-Marine Corps | 85 | 98% | 3.2 years | 72% |
Pleas and Verdicts
Contested cases are those with a not-guilty or mixed plea. The Air Force had the highest contested share, 42% of 65 cases with a plea recorded. The Army share was 40% of 196, and the Navy-Marine Corps share was 29% of 94.
When an Army case was contested and reached a verdict, 32% of the 78 such cases ended in a full acquittal. The Navy-Marine Corps rate was 41% of 27 cases. Because Air Force records rarely list charges when the accused is acquitted of all charges, no Air Force acquittal rate is given for this offense.
| Service | Contested share | Cases with a plea recorded | Full acquittal (contested, verdict reached) | Contested cases with a verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army | 40% | 196 | 32% | 78 |
| Air Force | 42% | 65 | — | — |
| Navy-Marine Corps | 29% | 94 | 41% | 27 |
Case Counts by Service
The Army had 197 cases, which is 8% of all Army courts-martial in these years. The Navy-Marine Corps had 96 (5% of its cases), and the Air Force had 68 (6% of its cases). The Army had more Article 120b cases than either of the other services in every year from 2021 to 2025.
| Service | Cases charging Article 120b | Share of that service's cases |
|---|---|---|
| Army | 197 | 8% |
| Air Force | 68 | 6% |
| Navy-Marine Corps | 96 | 5% |
A Steady Number of Cases Each Year
The yearly count did not fall steadily. There were 85 cases in 2021, 69 in 2022, 64 in 2023, 77 in 2024, and 66 in 2025.
Army counts stayed between 34 and 43 each year. The Air Force count went from 10 in 2021 to 19 in 2025. The Navy-Marine Corps count was 32 in 2021 and between 13 and 20 in each later year.
| Year | Army | Air Force | Navy-Marine Corps |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 43 | 10 | 32 |
| 2022 | 41 | 13 | 15 |
| 2023 | 37 | 11 | 16 |
| 2024 | 42 | 15 | 20 |
| 2025 | 34 | 19 | 13 |
Who Was Charged
NCOs (E-5 to E-9) made up 31% to 42% of the accused. In the Navy-Marine Corps, 42% of the accused with rank recorded were NCOs and 55% were junior enlisted (E-1 to E-4). In the Air Force, 40% were NCOs and 56% were junior enlisted. In the Army, 31% were NCOs and 63% were junior enlisted.
Officers were 6% of Army accused, 4% of Air Force accused, and 3% of Navy-Marine Corps accused. The Navy-Marine Corps shares use 93 cases with rank listed.
| Service | Cases with rank | Junior enlisted (E-1 to E-4) | NCOs (E-5 to E-9) | Officers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army | 197 | 63% | 31% | 6% |
| Air Force | 68 | 56% | 40% | 4% |
| Navy-Marine Corps | 93 | 55% | 42% | 3% |
Rule Changes in These Years
Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. When every guilty finding in a case is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. These records list trial dates, not offense dates, so cases tried from 2024 on fall under a mix of old and new rules.
Outside the Scope of These Records
The records report what happened at trial: charges, pleas, findings, and sentences. They say nothing about the evidence, the age of any alleged victim, or the plea terms. Allegations resolved without a court-martial do not appear, and neither do cases handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 120b on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Courts-martial in all three service groups with trial dates in 2021–2025 that charged Article 120b (361 cases). Coast Guard cases are not included.
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 120b (Rape and Sexual Assault of a Child): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Offense (hub)
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- Army, Air Force, or Navy-Marine Corps: How Article 107 Cases Compare, 2021–2025
- Army, Air Force, or Navy-Marine Corps: How Article 117a Cases Compare, 2021–2025
- Army, Air Force, or Navy-Marine Corps: How Article 120 Cases Compare, 2021–2025
- Article 120b explained on the law firm's website
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Compare: federal court. Child Sexual Abuse and Enticement: Federal Cases vs. Article 120b 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.