Child Sexual Abuse and Enticement: Courts-Martial at Marine Corps Base Hawaii vs. Federal Court in the District of Hawaii
At Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, 14 Marine Corps courts-martial with trial dates from 2017 to 2025 ended in a conviction for sexual offenses against a child (Article 120b). The median adjudged confinement was 27 months, and 11 of the 12 convictions with a plea recorded were guilty pleas. Fe
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In brief: At Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, 14 Marine Corps courts-martial with trial dates from 2017 to 2025 ended in a conviction for sexual offenses against a child (Article 120b). The median adjudged confinement was 27 months, and 11 of the 12 convictions with a plea recorded were guilty pleas. Federal court in the District of Hawaii sentenced 11 people for comparable child-victim offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2024, with a median prison term of 120 months, but those were district cases, not cases from the base.
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.
Guilty Pleas Made Up Most Kaneohe Bay Convictions
Of the 12 convictions with a plea recorded, 11 (92%) were guilty pleas. Only 1 contested case ended in a conviction with confinement, and its confinement was 191.9 months. A single case cannot show what contested cases usually receive.
The 11 guilty pleas with confinement had a median of 30 months. That figure is close to the overall median for the base, since guilty pleas account for nearly every case.
Sentences Adjudged at the Base
Confinement was part of all 14 sentences recorded. The median adjudged confinement was 27 months, or 2.2 years. A quarter of those convicted received 80.9 months or more.
All 14 convictions were at a general court-martial. All 14 people convicted were enlisted, and 13 of them (93%) received a punitive discharge: 11 dishonorable discharges and 2 bad-conduct discharges.
The records list the trial location as "Kaneohe Bay", "Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii", "MCB Hawaii", or "Marine Corps Base Hawaii". Every conviction was a Marine Corps case.
| Courts-martial at Marine Corps Base Hawaii | Federal court, District of Hawaii | |
|---|---|---|
| Convictions or people sentenced | 14 | 11 |
| Sentenced to confinement or prison | 100% | 100% |
| Median confinement or prison | 27 months | 120 months |
| A quarter received this or more | 80.9 months | 123.5 months |
| Pleaded guilty | 11 of 12 with a plea recorded (92%) | 73% |
| Mandatory minimum applied | See the caveats | 10 of 11 with the information (91%) |
Earlier and Later Trials
For trials in 2016 to 2019, the median confinement was 24 months, based on 3 cases. For trials in 2020 to 2025, the median was 36 months, based on 11 cases.
With only 3 cases in the earlier period, this split does not show a trend. It shows how few cases each period contains.
What the District Court Figures Cover
Marine Corps Base Hawaii is in the federal District of Hawaii, which hears federal cases from across the state. The 11 federal sentences here came from that whole district, and most did not involve service members. A court-martial is tried in a military court, not in the district court.
The federal count uses guideline §2G1.3 (enticement, transportation, and travel offenses involving a minor) and §2A3.1 to §2A3.4 cases with a child-victim statute. These are not the same offense definitions as Article 120b, so the military and federal groups overlap only in part.
Federal Sentences in Hawaii
Each of the 11 people received a prison term, with a median of 120 months (10 years). A quarter received 123.5 months or more. A mandatory minimum prison term, which sets a floor by statute, applied to 10 of them (91%).
A guilty plea ended 8 of the 11 cases (73%), and 7 of those 8 had a written plea agreement. The 3 people convicted after a trial had a median prison term of 121 months, compared with 120 months after a guilty plea.
The sentence was within the guideline range for 6 people (55%) and above it for 1 (9%). The remaining sentences were below the range: 2 at the government's request and 2 without one. Supervised release followed prison in all 11 cases, with a median term of 120 months, and 2 people received it for life.
Wider Comparison Points
All courts-martial for this offense in the data had 605 convictions and a median confinement of 36 months. The Kaneohe Bay median of 27 months was lower than that. All federal districts sentenced 4,971 people, with a median prison term of 120 months, the same as the Hawaii median.
What the Numbers Leave Out
Court-martial confinement is adjudged at trial and may change after clemency or appeal. A federal prison term is the term imposed, not the time actually served. The military figures use calendar years by trial date, and federal fiscal years start on October 1.
In Hawaii, 82% of federal defendants were in criminal history category I, but court-martial records have no criminal history field. Neither set of records describes the facts of the offenses, so the medians cannot show whether the cases were alike.
How We Counted
Courts-martial with trial dates in 2016 to 2025 whose recorded trial location is Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, ending in a conviction for sexual offenses against a child (Article 120b; federal child-victim sexual abuse, enticement, and travel offenses) (14). 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)
- Theft and Fraud: Courts-Martial at Marine Corps Base Hawaii 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.