When Navy-Marine Corps Accused Plead Guilty to Intimate Image

Trends › By Offense › Article 117a › When Navy-Marine Corps Accused Plead Gui

Based on 15 cases · 2017–2025 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Bad-Conduct Discharges Only

6 of the 15 convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge. All 6 were bad-conduct discharges, and 0 were dishonorable. For all Navy and Marine Corps guilty pleas in those years, the punitive discharge share was 60%.

For enlisted members, a punitive discharge means a bad-conduct discharge or a dishonorable discharge. Members who did not receive one may still face an administrative separation, which these records do not track.

Confinement in 10 of 15 Sentences

Every case ended in a conviction on at least one charge, and 10 of the 15 sentences included confinement (67%). The median confinement was 3 months. Across all Navy and Marine Corps guilty pleas in those years, the median was 6 months.

A quarter of the confinement terms were 9 months or longer. The figures are adjudged sentences, meaning the sentence announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. They include every charge in the case.

Article 117a Was Often Charged Alone

In 5 of the 15 cases, Article 117a was the only charge. Article 92 (orders violation) appeared with it in 3 cases. Article 128b (domestic violence, numbered since 2019), Article 128 (assault), and Article 134 (general article) each appeared in 2. Article 105a (false or unauthorized pass, numbered since 2019) appeared in 1.

Special Courts-Martial Heard Most Cases

Of the 15 cases, 11 went to special courts-martial and 4 to general courts-martial. The general share was 27%, below the 37% for all Navy and Marine Corps guilty pleas in those years. Confinement at a special court-martial cannot exceed one year, and a dishonorable discharge is not available there.

Rank Mix

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 73% of the accused, NCOs 27%, and officers 0%. In all Navy and Marine Corps guilty pleas in those years, junior enlisted members were 65%.

Trials From 2021 On

The 15 trials ran from January 2021 to September 2025. The yearly counts were 2 in 2021, 4 in 2022, 4 in 2023, 4 in 2024, and 1 in 2025. None appear from 2017 through 2020; Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea, and this count uses only records that list one.

A Covered Offense Under the 2023 Rules

Article 117a is a covered offense. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether covered offenses are prosecuted. Sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder are other examples. Separately, when all guilty findings in a case are for offenses after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters.

These records list trial dates, not offense dates, so it is unknown which of the 2024 and 2025 trials fell under these rules. All of the trials came after the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019, which brought written plea agreements, fixed panel sizes, and judge-alone special courts-martial capped at six months with no punitive discharge.

What Is Not Recorded

The records do not describe the evidence or the plea terms. Misconduct handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation is outside these records.

Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.

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.