How Long Are Court-Martial Sentences for Sexual Assault (Article 120)?

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Based on 482 cases · 2021–2025 · Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Median Confinement of 2 Years

445 of the 482 Article 120 convictions carried confinement. The median confinement was 2 years. For all convictions in those years, the median was 6 months.

A quarter of the sentences with confinement were 4 years or longer. 1 sentence was confinement for life. These figures are adjudged sentences, announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in the case, not only Article 120.

Sentence Lengths by Band

209 convictions (43%) were sentenced to more than 1 year and under 5 years. Another 92 (19%) were sentenced to 5 years or more, compared with 7% of all convictions in those years.

Shorter sentences were less common. 65 convictions (13%) were sentenced to under 6 months, compared with 39% of all convictions. 79 (16%) were sentenced to 6 months to 1 year. Only 37 convictions (8%) had no confinement, compared with 18% of all convictions.

Nearly All Were General Courts-Martial

438 of the 482 cases were general courts-martial (91%), compared with 56% of all convictions in those years. 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 and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

At the 438 general courts-martial, 93% of convictions brought confinement, with a median of 2 years. At the 44 special courts-martial, 82% did, with a median of 5 months.

Dishonorable Discharges Were the Most Common Discharge

A punitive discharge followed 89% of enlisted Article 120 convictions, compared with 65% of all convictions in those years. 293 were dishonorable discharges and 109 were bad-conduct discharges.

26 convicted officers or warrant officers appear in these cases, and 22 were dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Most Article 120 Convictions Followed a Contested Plea

The plea is listed in 476 of the 482 records. 271 accused contested at least one charge, and 205 pleaded guilty. A contested case is one with a not-guilty or mixed plea. The contested share was 57%, compared with 25% for all convictions in those years.

Of the 271 contested cases, 161 ended in a partial acquittal (59%). In a partial acquittal, the accused is found not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another. Because this group counts only cases with a conviction on Article 120, cases that ended in a full acquittal are not part of it.

Other Charges in the Same Case

199 of the 482 cases charged Article 120 by itself. The others charged at least one more article. Article 128 (assault) was the most common companion charge, in 147 cases.

Article 134, the general article, appeared in 59 cases, Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) in 47, Article 80 (attempts) in 31, and Article 128b (domestic violence) in 30. Because a sentence covers every charge in the case, these other offenses are part of the sentence figures.

Rank and Installations

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 64% of the accused, NCOs 30%, and officers 5%. Across all convictions in those years, junior enlisted members were 61%.

Fort Hood had 36 of these cases, Fort Bragg had 28, Joint Base Lewis-McChord had 26, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, had 24, and Fort Carson had 17. These 5 installations account for 27% of the 482 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count does not by itself show more sexual assault at a base.

Fewer Cases Each Year

The yearly count of Article 120 convictions went down in each year of the period: 158 in 2021, 116 in 2022, 89 in 2023, 73 in 2024, and 46 in 2025.

Rule Changes and Record Limits

Article 120 is a covered offense. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses. When every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. Both rules depend on the offense date, which the records do not give, so trials from 2024 on include cases under both sets of rules. The records cannot show whether these changes affected the yearly counts.

The records show charges, pleas, findings, and sentences. They do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or conduct handled outside a court-martial.

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.