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# When Article 120b and Article 131b Are Charged Together, How Do Cases End?
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-120b-and-article-131b-charged-together/
- Published: 2026-10-30T08:15:35.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-03T01:45:03.000Z
- Description: 25 Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial from 2015–2026 charged both child sexual abuse under Article 120b and obstruction under Article 131b (numbered since 2019).
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Article 120b, Article 131b

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Offense](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-offense/) › [Article 120b](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-120b-courts-martial/) › With Article 131b

**Short answer:** 25 Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial from 2015–2026 charged both child sexual abuse under Article 120b and obstruction under Article 131b (numbered since 2019). All 24 convictions included confinement, and 22 of them (92%) carried more than one year, compared with 76% across all Article 120b cases in those services. All 23 convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge.

Based on 25 cases · 2015–2026 · Army, Navy, and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

## Sentences of More Than One Year

22 of the 24 convictions in this group carried more than one year of confinement (92%). Across all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 120b, the share was 76%. Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement, since a special court-martial is capped at one year.

14 convictions (58%) carried 5 years or more, compared with 42% across Article 120b cases. 8 convictions (33%) carried more than 1 year but under 5 years, compared with 35%. 2 convictions (8%) carried under 6 months. No conviction fell in the 6 months to 1 year band, compared with 15% across Article 120b cases.

| Adjudged confinement            | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 120b |
| ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| No confinement                  | 0           | 0%         | 4%                                                                  |
| Under 6 months                  | 2           | 8%         | 5%                                                                  |
| 6 months to 1 year              | 0           | 0%         | 15%                                                                 |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 8           | 33%        | 35%                                                                 |
| 5 years or more                 | 14          | 58%        | 42%                                                                 |

## Median Confinement

Confinement was part of 100% of the 24 convictions. Half of the terms were 5.5 years or less, and the median across all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 120b was 3.3 years. A quarter of the terms in this group were 25 years or longer.

All of these are adjudged sentences. They show what was announced at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in the case, including the other charges listed below.

## Discharges and Dismissals

23 enlisted members were convicted, and all 23 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (100%). 16 of those were dishonorable discharges. Across Article 120b cases in these services, the share was 96%.

1 convicted officer or warrant officer appears in this group, and that officer was dismissed. A dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A dishonorable discharge or dismissal can only come from a general court-martial.

## Guilty Pleas and Contested Cases

The plea is listed for 22 of the 25 cases. 14 accused pleaded guilty, and 8 entered a not-guilty or mixed plea. That makes 36% of these cases contested, the same share as across all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 120b.

A contested case is one where the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. The data for this group does not report how the 8 contested cases ended, so no acquittal rate is given here.

## Rank of the Accused

Junior enlisted members, in grades E-1 to E-4, made up 56% of the accused. NCOs made up 40%, and officers 4%. Across all Article 120b cases in these services, junior enlisted members were 52%, so the rank mix here was close to the overall mix.

## Other Charges in the Same Cases

Every case charged at least one article besides Article 120b. Article 131b appears in all 25 by definition. Article 134, the general article, and Article 120, sexual assault, each appeared in 8 cases. Article 128, assault, appeared in 7, and Article 92, orders violation, in 5.

## Trial Years and Locations

Trials ran from November 2015 to March 2026\. There was 1 case in 2015, 1 in 2016, 3 in 2017, none in 2018 or 2019, 2 in 2020, 4 in 2021, 2 in 2022, 2 in 2023, 3 in 2024, 6 in 2025, and 1 in 2026, a partial year. Cases tried before 2019 carry the Article 131b label used since 2019.

Camp Pendleton, California and Bremerton, Washington had 3 cases each. Fort Hood, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and Jacksonville, Florida had 2 each. These five locations account for 48% of the 25 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count is not a finding about any one base.

## Rule Changes During These Years

The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019\. It set fixed panel sizes, created judge-alone special courts-martial, and brought in written plea agreements. Article 120b is a covered offense: since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute it. New sentencing parameters apply when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023.

The records show trial dates, not offense dates, so it is not possible to tell which rules applied to each case. They also do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or conduct handled outside a court-martial.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see [Article 120b on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-120b/?ref=bodiesburied.com). Dates and sources for the law changes: [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 120b and Article 131b (25 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 120b (Rape and Sexual Assault of a Child): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-120b-courts-martial/) (hub)
- [Article 131b (Obstruction, Numbered Since 2019): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-131b-courts-martial/) (hub)
- [Child Sexual Abuse Plus General Article: Courts-Martial Charging Articles 120b and 134](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-120b-and-article-134-charged-together/)
- [Child Sexual Abuse Plus Attempt: Courts-Martial Charging Articles 120b and 80](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-120b-and-article-80-charged-together/)
- [Articles 120b and 128 in the Same Case: What the Records Show](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-120b-and-article-128-charged-together/)
- [Fewer or More? Child Sexual Abuse Charges at Army Courts-Martial, 2021–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-120b-trend-2021-2025/)
- [How Has Article 120b Changed in Air Force Courts-Martial Since 2016?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-120b-trend-2016-2025/)
- [Article 120b explained on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-120b/?ref=bodiesburied.com)
- [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members)

**Compare: federal court.** [Child Sexual Abuse and Enticement: Federal Cases vs. Article 120b Courts-Martial](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-child-sexual-abuse-enticement-vs-article-120b/) · [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.