38 Sexual Assault Courts-Martial at Fort Bragg, 2021–2023: What the Records Show

Trends › By Installation › Fort Bragg › Article 120, 2021–2023

Based on 38 cases · 2021–2023 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

A Lower Full-Acquittal Rate

Of 29 contested cases that reached a verdict, 6 ended in a full acquittal (21%). Across Army Article 120 cases in the same years, the full-acquittal rate was 42%.

Another 14 contested cases (48%) ended in a partial acquittal: not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another. Army results list findings charge by charge, so partial acquittals appear often in Army data. After a partial acquittal, a conviction and a sentence remain.

Most Cases Were Contested

Only 9 accused pleaded guilty. 29 contested at least one charge with a not-guilty or mixed plea. The contested share of 76% was higher than the 71% in Army Article 120 cases overall.

Because so many cases were contested, these records show how sexual assault cases ended when guilt was disputed: in a full acquittal, a partial acquittal, or a conviction on every charge.

Panels and Military Judges

A military judge alone decided guilt in 20 of 38 cases with a recorded forum (53%). Panels of members heard 18: 14 enlisted panels and 4 officer panels. Every case heard by members was contested. Members heard 18 of the 29 contested cases (62%).

Full-acquittal rates were slightly different by forum. Members fully acquitted in 4 of 18 contested cases (22%), and judges alone in 2 of 11 (18%). The accused usually chooses whether a judge or a panel decides guilt, and most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas.

Confinement After a Conviction

Of 32 convictions, 25 included confinement. The median confinement was 2.1 years, longer than the 1.8 years in the rest of the Army. A quarter of the confinement sentences were 5 years or longer.

Sentences varied widely. Convictions with no confinement made up 22%, compared with 14% across the Army. Sentences of 5 years or more made up 22%, compared with 16%. Sentences longer than one year were part of 17 of 32 convictions (53%), the same 53% as across Army Article 120 cases. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement limit, clemency, or appeal, and they cover every charge in the case.

Most Punitive Discharges Were Dishonorable

74% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge: 16 dishonorable discharges and 4 bad-conduct discharges. In Army Article 120 cases overall, the share was 80%. All 5 convicted officers or warrant officers were dismissed.

A dishonorable discharge is the most severe discharge a court-martial can give an enlisted member, and only a general court-martial can impose it. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Almost All General Courts-Martial

General courts-martial heard 36 of the 38 cases (95%), the same 95% as in Army-wide Article 120 cases. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge or dismissal. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year.

A More Senior Group of Accused

The accused included 21 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 12 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 5 officers or warrant officers. That group was more senior than in Army Article 120 cases as a whole, where 62% of the accused were junior enlisted.

Other Charges in the Same Cases

Of the 38 cases, 28 charged at least one other article. Article 128 (assault) was the most common, in 18 cases. Article 134 (general article) was charged in 9, Article 92 (orders violation) in 7, and Article 128b (domestic violence) and Article 90 (disobeying an officer) in 4 each. A sentence covers the whole case, so the confinement and discharge figures also cover these charges.

An assault charge brought with a sexual assault charge often describes part of the same incident. The records do not split a sentence by charge, so they cannot show how much of a term was for each offense.

Timeline and Legal Setting

The cases were tried from March 2021 through November 2023: 15 in 2021, 14 in 2022, and 9 in 2023. Sexual assault charges were in 29% of the 129 courts-martial at Fort Bragg in those years.

Article 120 is a covered offense, one of the charges that special trial counsel now decide whether to prosecute. The services were required to begin publishing trial records under Article 140a by December 2020, and Army records in this data are sparse before 2021.

Limits of the Records

The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so they cannot show which rules applied to each case. They do not describe the evidence or plea terms, and they do not include cases handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 120 on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.

Compare: federal court. Sexual Abuse of an Adult: Federal Cases vs. Article 120 Courts-Martial

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.