> ## 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. # 23 Sexual Assault Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington, 2013–2018: What the Records Show - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/bremerton-washington-article-120-2013-2018/ - Published: 2026-10-28T06:33:54.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-03T01:48:02.000Z - Description: Bremerton, Washington had 23 courts-martial charging Article 120 (sexual assault) from 2013–2018. Of 10 contested cases, 8 ended in a full acquittal (80%), compared with 53% across Navy and Marine Corps Article 120 cases. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Bremerton, Washington, Article 120, Navy-Marine Corps [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Installation](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-installation/) › [Bremerton, Washington](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/courts-martial-at-bremerton-washington/) › Article 120, 2013–2018 **Short answer:** Bremerton, Washington had 23 courts-martial charging Article 120 (sexual assault) from 2013–2018\. Of 10 contested cases, 8 ended in a full acquittal (80%), compared with 53% across Navy and Marine Corps Article 120 cases. Convictions there had a median adjudged confinement of 5 years, compared with 3 years service-wide. Based on 23 cases · 2013–2018 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026 ## More Full Acquittals and Longer Sentences This post covers every Article 120 court-martial at a single Navy installation, Bremerton, Washington, from 2013 through 2018\. Contested cases ended in a full acquittal much more often than elsewhere. Cases that ended in a conviction had longer sentences than in the service overall. Both findings are based on small numbers: 10 contested cases and 15 convictions. A few outcomes can change the percentages by a large amount. So the figures describe what happened at this installation, not a lasting pattern. ## Verdicts in Contested Cases A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Of 10 contested cases with a verdict, 8 ended in a full acquittal, a rate of 80%. Across Navy and Marine Corps Article 120 cases overall, the rate was 53%. No contested case here ended in a partial acquittal. In a partial acquittal, the accused is found not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another. Each contested case here ended either in a full acquittal or in a conviction on all charges. ## More Guilty Pleas Than Elsewhere Of the 22 cases with a plea recorded, 12 ended in a guilty plea and 10 were contested. The contested share was 45%. In the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps, 70% of these cases were contested. The 12 guilty pleas account for most of the convictions at Bremerton. Most contested cases ended in a full acquittal. So most convictions here came from a guilty plea, not a verdict. ## Long Confinement After Conviction Of 15 convictions, 13 included confinement. The median confinement was 5 years, compared with 3 years elsewhere in the Navy and Marine Corps. A quarter of the confinement terms were 21 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. This matters here, because the other charges in these cases included child sexual abuse. ## Other Charges With Article 120 Of the 23 cases, 21 included at least one other article. Article 128 (assault) was charged in 19 cases. Article 120b (child sexual abuse) was charged in 7\. Article 119b (child endangerment, numbered since 2019), Article 80 (attempt), and Article 131b (obstruction, numbered since 2019) were each charged in 2. The records do not divide a sentence among its charges. So the long terms above cover all the findings in each case. ## Discharges and Dismissals Of 13 enlisted members convicted, 11 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (85%). That is about the same as the 82% elsewhere in the Navy and Marine Corps. Of those 11, 9 were dishonorable discharges, the most severe discharge a court-martial can impose on an enlisted member. The records also list 2 convicted officers or warrant officers, and 1 was dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation. ## The Accused and the Court Level Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 57% of the accused, NCOs 35%, and officers 9%. Across Navy and Marine Corps Article 120 cases, junior enlisted members made up 48%, so this group was more junior. Of the 23 cases, 20 were general courts-martial and 3 were special courts-martial. The general court-martial share, 87%, is the same as the 87% service-wide. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. A special court-martial caps confinement at 1 year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. ## Cases by Year and Share of All Bremerton Cases The cases were tried from December 2013 to December 2018\. There were 2 cases in 2013, 5 in 2014, 7 in 2015, 1 in 2016, 7 in 2017, and 1 in 2018\. They were 10% of the 221 courts-martial at Bremerton in those years. The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019, after these trials. Cases with offenses from before 2019 kept the old rules. 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. ## What the Records Do Not Show These records cover only cases that reached trial. They give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not describe the evidence or any plea terms, and they do not include nonjudicial punishment or administrative separations. Plea counts use only the records that list a plea. For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see [Article 120 on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-120-sexual-assault/?ref=bodiesburied.com). Dates and sources for the law changes: [UCMJ change timeline](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/ucmj-change-timeline/). ### How We Counted Courts-martial tried at Bremerton, Washington in 2013–2018 that charged Article 120 (23 cases), compared with every Navy and Marine Corps case charging Article 120 in those years. 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 - [Bremerton, Washington: Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/courts-martial-at-bremerton-washington/) (hub) - [Article 120 (Rape and Sexual Assault): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-120-courts-martial/) (hub) - [By Installation](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-installation/) (hub) - [Bremerton, Washington, 2013–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 221 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/bremerton-washington-courts-martial-2013-2018/) - [Bremerton, Washington, 2019–2023: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 153 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/bremerton-washington-courts-martial-2019-2023/) - [Bremerton, Washington Courts-Martial, 2024–2026: What 52 Cases Show](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/bremerton-washington-courts-martial-2024-2026/) - [How Bremerton, Washington Handled Sexual Assault Cases (Article 120), 2019–2023](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/bremerton-washington-article-120-2019-2023/) - [Is Navy-Marine Corps Sexual Assault Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 120, 2017–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-120-trend-2017-2025/) - [S2 E1: Article 120 Dismissal & the Aftermath](https://www.bodiesburied.com/s2e1-article-120-dismissal-the-aftermath/) (podcast, members) - [Article 120 explained on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-120-sexual-assault/?ref=bodiesburied.com) - [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members) **Compare: federal court.** [Sexual Abuse of an Adult: Federal Cases vs. Article 120 Courts-Martial](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-sexual-abuse-adult-vs-article-120/) **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.