Child Sexual Abuse and Enticement: Federal Sentences vs. Navy Courts-Martial, 2016–2025
In the Navy, 110 of 117 convictions for sexual offenses against a child (94%) included confinement, the lowest share among the services. The median confinement was 36 months (3 years). In federal court, the median prison term was 120 months (10 years) for 4,971 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016
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In brief: In the Navy, 110 of 117 convictions for sexual offenses against a child (94%) included confinement, the lowest share among the services. The median confinement was 36 months (3 years). In federal court, the median prison term was 120 months (10 years) for 4,971 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 4,971 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.
How Often Did Navy Convictions Include Confinement?
The Navy records show 117 convictions for sexual offenses against a child with trial dates from 2016 to 2025. 110 of the 117 (94%) included confinement. In federal court, more than 99% of defendants received a prison term, and 23 received probation only.
The Navy median adjudged confinement was 36 months (3 years). A quarter of sentences were 95.9 months or more, and 1 person received confinement for life.
What Discharges Did the Navy Impose?
Of the 110 enlisted members convicted, 105 received a punitive discharge (95%). That included 73 dishonorable discharges and 32 bad-conduct discharges.
7 officers were convicted, and all 7 were dismissed. 112 of the 117 convictions (96%) were at a general court-martial.
Did Pleading Guilty Matter in the Navy Records?
Of 116 convictions with a plea recorded, 79 (68%) were guilty pleas. In federal court, the guilty plea share was 87%.
The Navy median confinement was 36 months after a guilty plea, based on 78 cases. In contested cases that ended in conviction, it was 37 months, based on 30 cases. Those numbers are close to each other.
Federal court showed a much wider difference. The median prison term was 120 months after a guilty plea and 235 months after a trial.
Did the Navy Median Change Over Time?
For trials in 2016 to 2019, the median confinement was 36 months, based on 69 cases. For trials in 2020 to 2025, it was 37 months, based on 40 cases.
That is a change of a month in the median. The records give no reason for it, and the number of cases in each period is small.
How Do Navy and Federal Sentences Compare?
The Navy median was lower than the federal median. The upper end differed as well: a quarter of Navy sentences were 95.9 months or more, and a quarter of federal sentences were 180 months or more.
Federal courts reported a mandatory minimum for 2,960 people (60%). Court-martial records do not carry that field, so the table lists it only on the federal side.
| Navy courts-martial | Federal court, FY2016–FY2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Convictions or people sentenced | 117 | 4,971 |
| Sentenced to confinement or prison | 94% | more than 99% |
| Median confinement or prison | 36 months | 120 months |
| A quarter received this or more | 95.9 months | 180 months |
| Pleaded guilty | 79 of 116 with a plea recorded (68%) | 87% |
| Mandatory minimum applied | See the caveats | 60% |
How Does the Navy Fit Among the Services?
The Navy had the fewest convictions, at 117, compared with 172 in the Army, 181 in the Air Force, and 135 in the Marine Corps. Its guilty plea share of 68% was close to the Army share of 69%.
The Air Force and the Marine Corps also had a median confinement of 36 months. The Army was higher, at 45 months.
| Service | Convictions, 2016–2025 | With confinement | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) | Guilty pleas (where recorded) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army | 172 | 97% | 45 months | 95% | 69% |
| Air Force | 181 | 96% | 36 months | 97% | 40% |
| Navy | 117 | 94% | 36 months | 95% | 68% |
| Marine Corps | 135 | 99% | 36 months | more than 99% | 95% |
What Can These Numbers Not Tell a Reader?
The court-martial figures are sentences adjudged at trial, before clemency or appeal. The federal figures are terms imposed, not time served.
Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30, while the court-martial numbers follow the trial date. Neither source shows the facts of a case, so the comparison cannot predict a result.
How We Counted
Navy courts-martial with trial dates in 2016 to 2025 ending in a conviction for sexual offenses against a child (Article 120b; federal child-victim sexual abuse, enticement, and travel offenses) (117). Federal: 4,971 people sentenced under guideline §2G1.3 (enticement, transportation, and travel offenses involving a minor) plus §2A3.1 to §2A3.4 cases with a child-victim statute, fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (U.S. Sentencing Commission).
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.
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.
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
- 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)
- 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
- Child Sexual Abuse and Enticement Sentences Since the 2023 Military Sentencing Reform: What the Data Shows So Far
- Child Sexual Abuse and Enticement Charges: Federal Trial Acquittals vs. Contested Army Courts-Martial
- Child Sexual Abuse and Enticement Charges: How Often Federal Trials and Courts-Martial End in Acquittal
- 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)
- Sexual Abuse of an Adult: Federal Cases vs. Article 120 Courts-Martial (related comparison)
- Theft and Fraud by Dollar Loss: Federal Sentences vs. Article 121 Courts-Martial (related comparison)
- 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)
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-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.