Article 120c Across the Services: Cases, Pleas, and Sentences, 2021–2025
A punitive discharge followed 80% of enlisted convictions in Article 120c (indecent recording and exposure) cases from 2021–2025, compared with 65% across all courts-martial in those years. The median confinement was 1 year, compared with 6 months overall.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Offense › Article 120c › Across the services
Short answer: A punitive discharge followed 80% of enlisted convictions in Article 120c (indecent recording and exposure) cases from 2021–2025, compared with 65% across all courts-martial in those years. The median confinement was 1 year, compared with 6 months overall. The records hold 147 Article 120c cases in the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps.
The Navy-Marine Corps Differed From the Other Services
Article 120c cases in the Navy-Marine Corps ended with lighter sentences and fewer punitive discharges than in the Army or the Air Force. The Navy-Marine Corps imposed a punitive discharge on 69% of 48 convicted enlisted members. The Air Force rate was 89% of 27, and the Army rate was 88% of 42.
The Navy-Marine Corps also tried fewer of these cases at a general court-martial: 54%, compared with 87% in the Army and 90% in the Air Force. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
Across all three services together, the punitive discharge rate of 80% was higher than the 65% for all courts-martial in the same years. The combined median confinement of 1 year was also longer than the 6 months for all courts-martial.
| Service | Convicted enlisted members | Punitive discharge | General court-martial share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Army | 42 | 88% | 87% |
| Air Force | 27 | 89% | 90% |
| Navy-Marine Corps | 48 | 69% | 54% |
Confinement by Service
The Air Force median confinement was 2 years, from 30 convictions, and 63% of those sentences were longer than 1 year. Confinement was part of 97% of Air Force sentences.
The Army median was 1 year from 50 convictions. In the Army, 92% of sentences included confinement and 46% were longer than 1 year. The Navy-Marine Corps median was 8 months from 51 convictions, with 90% including confinement and 35% longer than 1 year.
Each figure is an adjudged sentence, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. A case charging Article 120c can carry other charges, and one sentence covers all of them.
| Service | Convictions | Included confinement | Median confinement | More than 1 year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army | 50 | 92% | 1 year | 46% |
| Air Force | 30 | 97% | 2 years | 63% |
| Navy-Marine Corps | 51 | 90% | 8 months | 35% |
How Many Cases Each Service Tried
The Army had 61 cases and the Navy-Marine Corps had 56, each about 3% of that service's courts-martial. The Air Force had 30 cases, or 2% of its courts-martial. The groups are small, so a few cases can move a service's percentages.
| Service | Cases charging Article 120c | Share of that service's cases |
|---|---|---|
| Army | 61 | 3% |
| Air Force | 30 | 2% |
| Navy-Marine Corps | 56 | 3% |
Contested Cases and Full Acquittals
A case counts as contested when the accused enters a not-guilty or mixed plea. The accused contested at least one charge in 43% of Army cases with a plea recorded (61 cases). The Air Force share was 39% of 28, and the Navy-Marine Corps share was 27% of 55.
Of the 26 Army contested cases that reached a verdict, 42% ended in a full acquittal. Of the 15 Navy-Marine Corps cases, 33% did. The Air Force has no acquittal rate here, because its records rarely list the charges in a case that ends in a full acquittal.
| Service | Contested share | Cases with a plea recorded | Full acquittal (contested, verdict reached) | Contested cases with a verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army | 43% | 61 | 42% | 26 |
| Air Force | 39% | 28 | — | — |
| Navy-Marine Corps | 27% | 55 | 33% | 15 |
Counts Over Time
The yearly total was 41 in 2021, then 28 in 2022, 25 in 2023, 25 in 2024, and 28 in 2025. The Navy-Marine Corps count was 20 in 2021, fell to 6 in 2024, and was 12 in 2025. The Army count ranged from 9 to 16. The Air Force count ranged from 3 to 8. In 2024, the Army had 16 cases, more than the Air Force (3) and the Navy-Marine Corps (6) in that year.
| Year | Army | Air Force | Navy-Marine Corps |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 15 | 6 | 20 |
| 2022 | 9 | 8 | 11 |
| 2023 | 12 | 6 | 7 |
| 2024 | 16 | 3 | 6 |
| 2025 | 9 | 7 | 12 |
A Higher Share of Officers in the Army and Air Force
Officers made up 12% of Army accused with rank recorded and 10% of Air Force accused. In the Navy-Marine Corps, officers were 4%.
Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) were 53% of the accused in both the Army and the Air Force, and 62% in the Navy-Marine Corps. NCOs (E-5 to E-9) were 35% in the Army and the Navy-Marine Corps and 37% in the Air Force. The shares use 60 Army cases, 30 Air Force cases, and 55 Navy-Marine Corps cases.
| Service | Cases with rank | Junior enlisted (E-1 to E-4) | NCOs (E-5 to E-9) | Officers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army | 60 | 53% | 35% | 12% |
| Air Force | 30 | 53% | 37% | 10% |
| Navy-Marine Corps | 55 | 62% | 35% | 4% |
The 2023 Rule Changes
Since December 28, 2023, new rules have applied to offenses committed after December 27, 2023. Special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. And when every guilty finding is for an offense after that date, the military judge sets the sentence within sentencing parameters.
The records give the trial date, not the offense date. Cases tried in 2024 and 2025 therefore include some under the old rules and some under the new rules.
Information Not in These Records
These are court-martial records only. They do not cover nonjudicial punishment or administrative separations, and they do not describe the evidence or the terms of any plea agreement. 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 120c 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 120c (147 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 120c (Other Sexual Misconduct): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Offense (hub)
- 1129 Article 134 Courts-Martial in Three Services, 2021–2025
- 231 Article 131b Courts-Martial in Three Services, 2021–2025
- 62 Article 87a Courts-Martial in Three Services, 2021–2025
- 833 Article 92 Courts-Martial in Three Services, 2021–2025
- 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 120c explained on the law firm's website
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
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.