Article 120 at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina Before and After 2019
Camp Lejeune, North Carolina tried 29 courts-martial charging Article 120 (sexual assault) in 2019–2023. Only 24% of cases with a recorded plea were contested, compared with 65% in all Navy and Marine Corps Article 120 cases. The median confinement was 1.1 years.
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Trends › By Installation › Camp Lejeune, North Carolina › Article 120
Short answer: Camp Lejeune, North Carolina tried 29 courts-martial charging Article 120 (sexual assault) in 2019–2023. Only 24% of cases with a recorded plea were contested, compared with 65% in all Navy and Marine Corps Article 120 cases. The median confinement was 1.1 years. It was 1.5 years across the service and 3.7 years at Camp Lejeune in 2017–2018.
Most Accused Pleaded Guilty
Of the 21 records that list a plea, 16 show a guilty plea and 5 show a not-guilty or mixed plea. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share was 24%, compared with 65% in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps.
The other 8 records do not list a plea, since Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit it. The records also do not say why an accused pleaded guilty or what any plea agreement provided.
Convictions and Confinement
All 29 cases ended in a conviction on at least one charge, and 27 of those sentences included confinement (93%). The median was 1.1 years, shorter than the 1.5 years in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. A quarter of the sentences were 1.8 years or longer.
These are adjudged sentences, as announced at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each one covers every charge in the case. Most cases here included more than one article.
Fewer Sentences of 5 Years or More
14 of 29 convictions (48%) included more than one year of confinement, compared with 55% in Navy and Marine Corps Article 120 cases overall. The largest difference was in sentences of 5 years or more: 7% of convictions here, compared with 19%.
Sentences of 6 months to 1 year were more common, at 28% compared with 18%. Sentences of more than 1 year and under 5 years made up 41%, compared with 36%. Only a general court-martial can impose more than one year. A special court-martial is capped at one year.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Navy and Marine Corps Article 120 cases in 2019–2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 2 | 7% | 11% |
| Under 6 months | 5 | 17% | 16% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 8 | 28% | 18% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 12 | 41% | 36% |
| 5 years or more | 2 | 7% | 19% |
How the Earlier Years Compare
In 2017–2018, the records show 12 Article 120 cases over 2 years, about 6 a year. That is the same as the yearly average since 2019. The later yearly counts were 3 in 2019, 5 in 2020, 16 in 2021, 3 in 2022, and 2 in 2023. 2021 had more cases than any other year.
The median confinement went from 3.7 years to 1.1 years. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members were about the same, at 91% and then 89%. Convictions with confinement went from 91% to 93%. General courts-martial went from 83% to 72% of cases. With only 12 earlier cases, a few outcomes can move these figures, so they show direction, not precise change.
| 2017–2018 | 2019–2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 12 | 29 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | — | 24% |
| Convictions with confinement | 91% | 93% |
| Median confinement | 3.7 years | 1.1 years |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 91% | 89% |
| General courts-martial | 83% | 72% |
Companion Charges
Article 120 was the only charge in 4 of the 29 cases. Article 128 (assault) was also charged in 20, Article 92 (orders violation) in 10, Article 134 in 8, Article 120b (child sexual abuse) in 5, and Article 128b (domestic violence) in 4.
The sentence covers the whole case, so the confinement figures here include these companion charges as well as the Article 120 count.
Discharges After Conviction
A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge for enlisted members. The officer equivalent is a dismissal. Here, 89% of enlisted convictions included one: 16 bad-conduct and 8 dishonorable. The share for the Navy and Marine Corps is 83%.
Both of the 2 convicted officers or warrant officers were dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Rank and Court Level
The accused were 25 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 2 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 2 officers or warrant officers. That mix is more junior than all Navy and Marine Corps Article 120 cases, where 60% were junior enlisted.
General courts-martial tried 21 cases and special courts-martial tried 8. The general share was 72%, compared with 87% in Navy and Marine Corps Article 120 cases overall. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
Rules and Limits
Article 120 is a covered offense. Decisions to prosecute covered offenses moved from commanders to special trial counsel at the end of 2023, after all of these trials. The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They leave out the evidence, the plea terms, 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
Courts-martial tried at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina that charged Article 120 (found guilty, not guilty, or both): 2017–2018 (12) and 2019–2023 (29). Comparisons use every Navy and Marine Corps case charging Article 120 in 2019–2023.
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
- Camp Lejeune, North Carolina: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Article 120 (Rape and Sexual Assault): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, 2017–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 140 Cases (the whole docket)
- Camp Lejeune, North Carolina Courts-Martial, 2019–2023: What 283 Cases Show (the whole docket)
- What Was Tried at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, 2024–2026? 119 Courts-Martial (the whole docket)
- Sexual Assault Cases at Norfolk, Virginia: 2013–2018 vs. 2019–2023 (same offense, another installation)
- Sexual Assault Cases at San Diego, California: 2013–2018 vs. 2019–2023 (same offense, another installation)
- Is Navy-Marine Corps Sexual Assault Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 120, 2017–2025
- S2 E1: Article 120 Dismissal & the Aftermath (podcast, members)
- Article 120 explained on the law firm's website
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Article 120 Cases at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, 2019–2023
Names and links only. Each judge's record of pleas, findings, and sentences is on their Know Your Judge page, part of the Court-Martial Characters membership.
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.