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Sexual Abuse of an Adult Convictions of Officers and Warrant Officers: Courts-Martial Compared With Federal Court

Officers and warrant officers had 58 court-martial convictions for sexual abuse of an adult from 2016 to 2025, and the median adjudged confinement was 38.4 months. Dismissal was part of the sentence for 46 of the 58 convicted. The federal median prison term for 531 people sentenced in fiscal years 2

Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 9 min read

Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Sexual Abuse of an Adult › Sexual Abuse of an Adult: Officers and Warrant Officers

In brief: Officers and warrant officers had 58 court-martial convictions for sexual abuse of an adult from 2016 to 2025, and the median adjudged confinement was 38.4 months. Dismissal was part of the sentence for 46 of the 58 convicted. The federal median prison term for 531 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 was 74 months.

Updated November 2, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025 · Military Trial Results

This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 531 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, compared with court-martial results from this site's Military Trial Results data (updated November 2, 2026). Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 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.

Officer Sentences

Confinement was adjudged in 43 of the 58 convictions with a sentence recorded (74%). The figure for all ranks together, which had 901 convictions, was 88%.

The median confinement was 38.4 months, or 3.2 years. A quarter of the sentences were 119.9 months or more. All ranks together had a median of 24 months.

Courts-martial: Officers and Warrant OfficersFederal court, FY2016–FY2025
Convictions or people sentenced58531
Sentenced to confinement or prison74%95%
Median confinement or prison38.4 months74 months
A quarter received this or more119.9 months151 months
Pleaded guilty10 of 57 with a plea recorded (18%)87%
Mandatory minimum appliedSee the caveats1%

Dismissal From the Service

The records list 58 officers convicted, and 46 of them were dismissed. The records do not give a punitive discharge count for officers, because dismissal is the sentence type that applies to them.

By service, the officer and warrant officer convictions were 27 in the Army, 19 in the Air Force, 9 in the Navy, and 3 in the Marine Corps. All 58 convictions (100%) were at a general court-martial.

Guilty Pleas and Contested Cases

A plea was recorded for 57 convictions, and 10 (18%) were guilty pleas. The median confinement after a guilty plea was 130 months, but this rests on only 8 cases with confinement.

In contested cases that ended in conviction, the median was 36 months, from 34 cases with confinement. The guilty plea median rests on too few cases to describe a pattern.

Earlier and Later Trials

The median confinement for trials in 2016 to 2019 was 46.5 months, from 14 cases with confinement. For trials in 2020 to 2025 it was 24 months, from 29 cases.

Both periods have small counts. The records cannot show whether the lower later figure reflects a change in sentencing or a different mix of cases.

The Federal Comparison Group

Federal records have no rank. 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). Criminal history is the nearest federal measure, and court-martial records have no criminal history field.

Federal court sentenced 506 of the 531 people (95%) to prison. The federal median was 74 months, 87% of the group pleaded guilty, and a quarter received 151 months or more. The median was 63 months after a plea and 131.5 months after a trial. Probation only went to 15 people (3%), and 4 received a life sentence.

What the Records Cannot Show

Adjudged confinement is the term announced at trial, so it can differ from the time served. Federal prison terms are likewise the terms imposed and not time served.

The officer group is small, and rank is the rank at trial as listed in the record. The records cannot show how the facts or the forum affected any sentence.

How We Counted

Courts-martial with trial dates in 2016 to 2025 ending in a conviction for sexual abuse of an adult (Article 120 rape, sexual assault, and abusive sexual contact) where the accused was officers and warrant officers (58). Federal: 531 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) (U.S. Sentencing Commission). Federal records have no rank; criminal history is the nearest federal measure of record, and courts-martial have no criminal history field.

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.

No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct. Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served.

Military confinement credit and parole. For military sentences adjudged after 2004, good conduct time is 5 days for each month of confinement, about 16%. Military prisoners can also earn up to 8 more days a month for work and programs and up to 2 days a month for special acts, with a limit of 15 days a month in total. Military prisoners can be considered for parole by their service's clemency and parole board. The military numbers in this post are the confinement adjudged at trial, not the time served.

Military sentences include punishments federal sentences do not. A court-martial sentence can include a punitive discharge (bad-conduct discharge, dishonorable discharge, or dismissal for officers), reduction in rank, and forfeiture of pay. These have no federal counterpart. A comparison of months of confinement leaves them out. A short confinement term combined with a dishonorable discharge is a heavier sentence than the months alone show.

Federal supervised release. Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial.

Who decides the sentence, and under what rules. Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart.

How life sentences and "time served" are counted. In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less.

Related Analysis

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.

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