Guilty Pleas in Sexual Abuse of an Adult Cases: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial
In courts-martial charging sexual abuse of an adult, 364 of the 1,162 with a plea recorded (31%) were guilty pleas. In federal court, 462 of 531 people sentenced (87%) pleaded guilty. Both systems resolve some cases without a trial, but the courts-martial group counts charged cases and the federal g
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In brief: In courts-martial charging sexual abuse of an adult, 364 of the 1,162 with a plea recorded (31%) were guilty pleas. In federal court, 462 of 531 people sentenced (87%) pleaded guilty. Both systems resolve some cases without a trial, but the courts-martial group counts charged cases and the federal group counts people sentenced, so the rates are not measured the same way.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 531 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 and the Federal Judicial Center's records of 2,093 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, compared with court-martial results from this site's Military Trial Results data (updated November 2, 2026). It is part of the Federal Prosecution Analysis series, which builds on Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System. How the numbers were built: How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built.
How Often Did Courts-Martial Involve a Guilty Plea?
The court-martial records cover trial dates from 2016 to 2025 and the offense group of Article 120 rape, sexual assault, and abusive sexual contact. A plea was recorded for 1,162 courts-martial. Of these, 364 (31%) were guilty pleas, 40 (3%) were mixed pleas, and 758 (65%) were not-guilty pleas.
Another 102 courts-martial charging this offense have no plea recorded. A court-martial is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge, which covers the not-guilty and mixed pleas.
Guilty Pleas Differ by Service
The share of guilty pleas varied across the services. The Marine Corps had 113 guilty pleas among 149 cases with a plea recorded (76%). The Army had 144 of 492 (29%), the Navy had 82 of 318 (26%), and the Air Force had 25 of 203 (12%).
Air Force plea information is missing for most trials before 2020, so the Air Force figure rests on an incomplete record.
| Service | Cases with a plea recorded | Guilty pleas | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Army | 492 | 144 | 29% |
| Air Force | 203 | 25 | 12% |
| Navy | 318 | 82 | 26% |
| Marine Corps | 149 | 113 | 76% |
Federal Court: Sentenced People and Closed Cases
Federal data comes from separate sources. The Sentencing Commission counted 531 people sentenced under guideline §2A3.1 or §2A3.4 where the statute of conviction shows an adult victim (18 U.S.C. 2241(a)/(b), 2242, 2244), and 462 (87%) pleaded guilty. The other 69 were convicted at trial.
The Federal Judicial Center counted 2,093 defendants charged under 18 U.S.C. 2241 to 2244, with any victim age, whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of these, 1,555 (74%) pleaded guilty, 262 (13%) had their cases dismissed, and 276 (13%) went to trial.
The 74% rate includes dismissals in the total, so it is lower than the 87% rate among people who were sentenced. In total, 1,752 of the 2,093 (84%) were convicted, by plea or at trial.
Plea Agreements
Plea agreements were common in both systems. Among 312 court-martial guilty pleas where the records show whether there was an agreement, 307 (98%) had one.
Among federal guilty pleas, 97% had a written plea agreement and 3% were straight pleas with no agreement. The plea agreement records for courts-martial come mostly from the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps.
Year by Year
The table shows guilty plea rates for each year. The federal rate was between 81% and 95% in every fiscal year. The court-martial rate was between 20% and 49%.
In 2017, 43 of 88 courts-martial (49%) were guilty pleas, the highest court-martial year. In 2016, 12 of 59 (20%) were, the lowest. The federal rate in 2016 was 83%.
| Year | Courts-martial: guilty pleas | Federal: pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 12 of 59 (20%) | 83% |
| 2017 | 43 of 88 (49%) | 95% |
| 2018 | 23 of 79 (29%) | 95% |
| 2019 | 17 of 68 (25%) | 86% |
| 2020 | 31 of 64 (48%) | 83% |
| 2021 | 79 of 253 (31%) | 87% |
| 2022 | 59 of 188 (31%) | 88% |
| 2023 | 46 of 152 (30%) | 85% |
| 2024 | 32 of 126 (25%) | 81% |
| 2025 | 22 of 85 (26%) | 89% |
What the Comparison Cannot Show
The systems screen cases differently. A federal felony needs an indictment, and federal prosecutors decide which cases to bring. A court-martial has no grand jury, and an Article 32 hearing officer's conclusions are recommendations.
These differences in screening mean the cases that reach a plea or a trial are not the same kinds of cases in each system. The records cannot show why accused service members pleaded guilty less often than federal defendants.
How We Counted
Courts-martial: every court-martial charging sexual abuse of an adult (Article 120 rape, sexual assault, and abusive sexual contact) with a trial date in 2016 to 2025 and a plea recorded (1,162). Federal: people sentenced under primary sentencing guideline §2A3.1 or §2A3.4 where the statute of conviction shows an adult victim (18 U.S.C. 2241(a)/(b), 2242, 2244) (531, U.S. Sentencing Commission) and defendants charged under 18 U.S.C. 2241 to 2244 (any victim age) whose cases ended (2,093, Federal Judicial Center), fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records.
What to Keep in Mind
Who is in each set of numbers. The federal sentencing numbers come from the U.S. Sentencing Commission. They count only people who were convicted and sentenced in federal district court. People whose cases were dismissed or who were acquitted are not in them. The military numbers come from court-martial results, which include acquittals. To compare acquittal or dismissal rates, the federal side uses a different source: the Federal Judicial Center's case data, which counts every defendant whose case ended.
Different cases reach each system. Federal prosecutors bring a narrow set of cases. In fiscal year 2024, immigration and drug trafficking cases were 59% of everyone sentenced in federal court (36,664 of 61,678). Many crimes that the military prosecutes, such as most assaults, most sexual assaults between adults, and drug use, are usually state crimes for civilians and reach federal court only in special situations, such as on federal land or in Indian Country. A federal case and a court-martial for the same crime can involve different kinds of facts.
Time periods. Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually.
Offense categories do not line up exactly. Each comparison uses a federal offense group chosen to match the military article as closely as possible (see the crosswalk). Some matches are close; others are partial. The post says which federal guideline or statute was used and why it is not an exact match.
Plea agreements work differently. In federal court, most plea agreements do not bind the judge on the sentence. Since 2019, a military plea agreement can set a minimum and maximum sentence that the military judge must follow if the judge accepts the agreement. The federal numbers count anyone who pleaded guilty, with or without a written agreement.
How "plea" and "trial" are counted. In the federal sentencing numbers, "trial" means the person was convicted after a trial, including people who pleaded guilty to some counts and went to trial on others. People acquitted at trial are not in these numbers at all (see "Who is in each set of numbers"). In the federal case data, the trial rate counts both convictions and acquittals at trial among all defendants whose cases ended, including dismissed cases. Military numbers count contested cases that reached a verdict. These denominators are not the same, and each post states the one it uses.
Related Analysis
- Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- Sexual Abuse of an Adult: Federal Cases vs. Article 120 Courts-Martial (overview)
- Sexual Abuse of an Adult Sentences Since the 2023 Military Sentencing Reform: What the Data Shows So Far
- Sexual Abuse of an Adult Charges: Federal Trial Acquittals vs. Contested Army Courts-Martial
- Sexual Abuse of an Adult Charges: How Often Federal Trials and Courts-Martial End in Acquittal
- Sexual Abuse of an Adult Charges: Federal Trial Acquittals vs. Contested Marine Corps Courts-Martial
- Sexual Abuse of an Adult Charges: Federal Trial Acquittals vs. Contested Navy Courts-Martial
- Sexual Abuse of an Adult Convictions of Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4): Courts-Martial Compared With Federal Court
- Are Courts-Martial More Likely to End in Acquittal Than Federal Trials? (related comparison)
- Guilty Pleas in Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial, Year by Year (related comparison)
- Child Pornography Sentences: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial, 2016–2025 (related comparison)
- Federal Law Has No Crime of Drug Use: How Article 112a Cases Compare (related comparison)
- Drug Distribution and Importation: Federal vs. Court-Martial Sentences, 2016–2025 (related comparison)
- Child Sexual Abuse and Enticement: Federal Cases vs. Article 120b Courts-Martial (related comparison)
- Theft and Fraud by Dollar Loss: Federal Sentences vs. Article 121 Courts-Martial (related comparison)
- Fewer or More? Sexual Assault Charges at Army Courts-Martial, 2021–2025 (court-martial data)
- Article 120 Sentences in the Army: Confinement and Discharges, 2021–2025 (court-martial data)
- Fighting an Army Sexual Assault Charge: How Contested Cases Ended (court-martial data)
- When Army Accused Plead Guilty to Sexual Assault (court-martial data)
- Is Air Force Sexual Assault Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 120, 2016–2025 (court-martial data)
- How Much Confinement for an Article 120 Conviction in the Air Force? (court-martial data)
- When Air Force Accused Plead Guilty to Sexual Assault (court-martial data)
- Is Navy-Marine Corps Sexual Assault Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 120, 2017–2025 (court-martial data)
- Article 120 Sentences in the Navy-Marine Corps: Confinement and Discharges, 2017–2025 (court-martial data)
- Not Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Article 120 Cases: What Happened at Trial (court-martial data)
- Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Sexual Assault Cases: How Often, and What Came Next (court-martial data)
- Article 120 (Rape and Sexual Assault): Court-Martial Data and Trends (court-martial data)
- Article 120 UCMJ Explained by a Former Special Victim Prosecutor (law firm reference page)
- U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles (source)
- Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants) (source)
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.