Child Sexual Abuse and Enticement: Courts-Martial at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam vs. Federal Court in the District of Hawaii
Courts-martial at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam recorded 17 convictions for sexual offenses against a child (Article 120b) with trial dates from 2017 to 2025, and the median adjudged confinement was 60 months. In the District of Hawaii, 11 people were sentenced in federal court for child-victim sex
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In brief: Courts-martial at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam recorded 17 convictions for sexual offenses against a child (Article 120b) with trial dates from 2017 to 2025, and the median adjudged confinement was 60 months. In the District of Hawaii, 11 people were sentenced in federal court for child-victim sexual abuse, enticement, and travel offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2024, with a median prison term of 120 months. Both groups are small, and the federal group comes from the whole district rather than from the installation.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 11 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.
Which Cases Are Counted Here?
The federal numbers in this post are not installation cases. They cover people sentenced anywhere in the District of Hawaii, and most of them did not involve service members. Nothing in the records shows that any case from the installation would have gone to the district court.
On the military side, the records list the trial location as "JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii", "Pearl Harbor", or "Pearl Harbor, Hawaii". Of the 17 convictions, 13 were Navy cases and 4 were Air Force cases.
The federal side counts sentences under guideline §2G1.3, which covers enticement, transportation, and travel offenses involving a minor. It also counts §2A3.1 to §2A3.4 cases with a child-victim statute.
Confinement After an Article 120b Conviction at the Installation
Confinement was part of 15 of the 17 sentences recorded (88%). The median adjudged confinement was 60 months, or 5 years. A quarter of those convicted received 143.9 months or more.
A plea was recorded for 16 convictions, and 7 of them (44%) were guilty pleas. The median confinement after a guilty plea was 36 months. In contested cases ending in conviction, it was 60 months. Each of those figures rests on 7 cases with confinement.
Trials in 2016 to 2019 had a median confinement of 42 months across 10 cases. Trials in 2020 to 2025 had a median of 78.9 months across 5 cases. These counts are too small to describe a trend.
Discharges and Court Level
All 17 convictions were at a general court-martial, the highest level of military trial court.
Every one of the 16 enlisted members convicted received a punitive discharge. That included 11 dishonorable discharges and 5 bad-conduct discharges. The 1 officer convicted was dismissed, which is the officer form of a punitive discharge.
Prison Terms in the District of Hawaii
All 11 people sentenced in the district received a prison term. None received probation only. The median prison term was 120 months, or 10 years. A quarter received 123.5 months or more, and a quarter received 120 months or less.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 10 of the 11 (91%). A mandatory minimum is a floor set by statute that a judge generally cannot go below.
Guilty pleas accounted for 8 of 11 cases (73%), and 3 people were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 120 months after a guilty plea and 121 months after a trial. Of the 8 guilty pleas, 7 had a written plea agreement.
Guideline Range, Supervision, and Money Orders
Federal judges compare each sentence with a range recommended by the sentencing guidelines. In Hawaii, 6 sentences (55%) were within the range. Another 2 (18%) were below it at the government's request, 2 (18%) were below it without a government request, and 1 (9%) was above it.
All 11 were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 120 months. Supervised release for life was ordered for 2 people (18%). No fines and no restitution orders appear in these 11 cases.
How the Local Figures Compare With All Cases
Across all courts-martial for this offense in the data, there were 605 convictions and a median confinement of 36 months. The 60-month median at Pearl Harbor-Hickam was higher than that figure.
Across all federal districts, 4,971 people were sentenced, and the median prison term was 120 months. The Hawaii median was the same.
| Courts-martial at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam | Federal court, District of Hawaii | |
|---|---|---|
| Convictions or people sentenced | 17 | 11 |
| Sentenced to confinement or prison | 88% | 100% |
| Median confinement or prison | 60 months | 120 months |
| A quarter received this or more | 143.9 months | 123.5 months |
| Pleaded guilty | 7 of 16 with a plea recorded (44%) | 73% |
| Mandatory minimum applied | See the caveats | 10 of 11 with the information (91%) |
Limits of These Records
Court-martial sentences are as adjudged at trial, before any clemency or appeal. Federal prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. Military years here are calendar years by trial date, while each federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30.
Federal records placed 82% of the Hawaii defendants in criminal history category I, the lowest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. With 17 military and 11 federal cases, a few sentences can move any median, and neither source explains why a sentence was set where it was.
How We Counted
Courts-martial with trial dates in 2016 to 2025 whose recorded trial location is Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, ending in a conviction for sexual offenses against a child (Article 120b; federal child-victim sexual abuse, enticement, and travel offenses) (17). Federal: people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 in the District of Hawaii (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Hawaii") under guideline §2G1.3 (enticement, transportation, and travel offenses involving a minor) plus §2A3.1 to §2A3.4 cases with a child-victim statute (11). 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
- 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)
- Child Sexual Abuse and Enticement: Federal Cases vs. Article 120b Courts-Martial (overview)
- Federal Sentences in the District of Hawaii, FY2016–2025 (the federal district)
- Child Pornography: Courts-Martial at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam vs. Federal Court in the District of Hawaii (same installation)
- Child Sexual Abuse and Enticement: Courts-Martial at Bremerton vs. Federal Court in the Western District of Washington (other installations)
- Child Sexual Abuse and Enticement: Courts-Martial at Camp Lejeune vs. Federal Court in the Eastern District of North Carolina (other installations)
- Child Sexual Abuse and Enticement: Courts-Martial at Camp Pendleton vs. Federal Court in the Southern District of California (other installations)
- Child Sexual Abuse and Enticement: Courts-Martial at Fort Bragg vs. Federal Court in the Eastern District of North Carolina (other installations)
- Child Sexual Abuse and Enticement: Federal Sentences vs. Air Force Courts-Martial, 2016–2025
- Child Sexual Abuse and Enticement: Federal Sentences vs. Army Courts-Martial
- Child Sexual Abuse and Enticement: Federal Sentences vs. Marine Corps Courts-Martial
- Fewer or More? Child Sexual Abuse Charges at Army Courts-Martial, 2021–2025 (court-martial data)
- How Much Confinement for an Article 120b Conviction in the Army? (court-martial data)
- How Often Are Contested Army Article 120b Cases Acquitted? (court-martial data)
- Pleading Guilty to Article 120b in the Army: What Sentences Followed? (court-martial data)
- How Has Article 120b Changed in Air Force Courts-Martial Since 2016? (court-martial data)
- How Much Confinement for an Article 120b Conviction in the Air Force? (court-martial data)
- Guilty Pleas in Air Force Child Sexual Abuse Cases: How Often, and What Came Next (court-martial data)
- Fewer or More? Child Sexual Abuse Charges at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2017–2025 (court-martial data)
- What Sentence Follows a Navy-Marine Corps Child Sexual Abuse Conviction? (court-martial data)
- Fighting a Navy-Marine Corps Child Sexual Abuse Charge: How Contested Cases Ended (court-martial data)
- Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Child Sexual Abuse Cases: How Often, and What Came Next (court-martial data)
- Article 120b (Rape and Sexual Assault of a Child): Court-Martial Data and Trends (court-martial data)
- Article 120b UCMJ: Rape and Sexual Assault of a Child (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.