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Child Sexual Abuse and Enticement: Courts-Martial at Camp Lejeune vs. Federal Court in the Eastern District of North Carolina

At Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, courts-martial recorded 35 convictions for sexual offenses against a child (Article 120b) with trial dates from 2017 to 2025, and the median adjudged confinement was 23 months. In the Eastern District of North Carolina, 18 people were sentenced in federal court for c

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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Child Sexual Abuse and Enticement › Child Sexual Abuse and Enticement: Camp Lejeune

In brief: At Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, courts-martial recorded 35 convictions for sexual offenses against a child (Article 120b) with trial dates from 2017 to 2025, and the median adjudged confinement was 23 months. In the Eastern District of North Carolina, 18 people were sentenced in federal court for child-victim sexual abuse, enticement, and travel offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and the median prison term was 158 months (13.2 years). Those 18 federal cases come from the whole district, not from the base, and most did not involve service members.

Updated November 3, 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 18 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.

Guilty Pleas Were the Usual Path in Both Courts

Guilty pleas made up most convictions on each side. At Camp Lejeune, 30 of the 32 convictions with a plea recorded (94%) were guilty pleas. In the federal district, 15 of 18 people (83%) pleaded guilty, and 3 were convicted after a trial.

Each of the federal guilty pleas came with a written plea agreement. None was a straight plea without an agreement.

Sentence lengths differed by path. At Camp Lejeune, the median confinement after a guilty plea was 20 months, based on 29 cases with confinement. The 2 contested cases that ended in conviction with confinement had a median of 29 months. In federal court, the median prison term was 151 months after a guilty plea and 470 months after a trial, the latter based on 3 people.

A District-Wide Group, Not a Base Group

Camp Lejeune is in the federal Eastern District of North Carolina. The federal side of this post counts every person sentenced in that district under guideline §2G1.3 (enticement, transportation, and travel offenses involving a minor) plus §2A3.1 to §2A3.4 cases with a child-victim statute. Most of those people were not service members.

Courts-martial are counted where the records list the trial location as "Camp Lejeune", "Camp Lejeune, North Carolina", or "Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune". All 35 convictions were Marine Corps cases.

Military Sentences at Camp Lejeune

Confinement was part of 34 of the 35 sentences recorded (97%). The median was 23 months, and a quarter received 60 months or more. That median was lower than the 36 months for all 605 court-martial convictions for this offense in the data.

Of the 35 convictions, 31 (89%) were at a general court-martial. All 33 enlisted members convicted received a punitive discharge: 23 dishonorable discharges and 10 bad-conduct discharges. The 2 officers convicted were both dismissed, which is the officer form of a punitive discharge.

Trials in 2016 to 2019 had a median confinement of 25.5 months across 18 cases. Trials in 2020 to 2025 had a median of 21 months across 16 cases.

Courts-martial at Camp LejeuneFederal court, Eastern District of North Carolina
Convictions or people sentenced3518
Sentenced to confinement or prison97%100%
Median confinement or prison23 months158 months
A quarter received this or more60 months221.2 months
Pleaded guilty30 of 32 with a plea recorded (94%)83%
Mandatory minimum appliedSee the caveats12 of 18 with the information (67%)

What Federal Judges in the District Imposed

All 18 federal defendants received a prison term. A quarter received 221.2 months or more, and a quarter received 65.2 months or less. 1 person received a life sentence.

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 12 people (67%). Against the guideline range, 56% (10) were sentenced below it at the government's request, 33% (6) within it, and 11% (2) below it without a government request. No sentence was above the range.

Supervised release followed prison for all 18, with a median term of 60 months, and 3 people (17%) received it for life. Restitution was ordered for 7 (39%). No fines were ordered.

The district median of 158 months was higher than the 120 months across all federal districts, where 4,971 people were sentenced.

Prior Records on the Federal Side

In this group, 17% were in the lowest criminal history category, category I, and 22% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records carry no criminal history field. The 2 groups cannot be compared on this point.

Where the Comparison Stops

The federal count of 18 is small, so a few long sentences can change its median. Court-martial confinement is the sentence adjudged at trial, before clemency or appeal, while federal terms are those imposed rather than time served. Federal years run October 1 to September 30, and court-martial years follow the trial date.

Nothing in these records shows the facts behind any case, and nothing shows how a Camp Lejeune case would have been sentenced in federal court.

How We Counted

Courts-martial with trial dates in 2016 to 2025 whose recorded trial location is Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, ending in a conviction for sexual offenses against a child (Article 120b; federal child-victim sexual abuse, enticement, and travel offenses) (35). Federal: people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 in the Eastern District of North Carolina (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "N Carolina East") under guideline §2G1.3 (enticement, transportation, and travel offenses involving a minor) plus §2A3.1 to §2A3.4 cases with a child-victim statute (18). The installation is matched to the federal district for the county where it sits.

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.

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.

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.

Mandatory minimum sentences. Many federal statutes on drugs, images of child exploitation, child sex abuse, and firearms carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The UCMJ has mandatory minimums only for a few offenses (a dishonorable discharge or dismissal for rape and sexual assault, and life for premeditated murder). Federal sentences for these offenses are partly set by Congress, not by the judge.

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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