> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Not Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Article 119b Cases: What Happened at Trial - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-119b-acq-2017-2025/ - Published: 2026-10-30T08:05:13.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-30T08:05:13.000Z - Description: The Navy and Marine Corps records hold 12 contested courts-martial from 2017–2025 with an Article 119b (child endangerment, numbered since 2019) charge. The median confinement after conviction was 5 years, compared with 7 months across all contested Navy and Marine Corps cases. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Article 119b, Navy-Marine Corps [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Offense](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-offense/) › [Article 119b](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-119b-courts-martial/) › Not Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Ar **Short answer:** The Navy and Marine Corps records hold 12 contested courts-martial from 2017–2025 with an Article 119b (child endangerment, numbered since 2019) charge. The median confinement after conviction was 5 years, compared with 7 months across all contested Navy and Marine Corps cases. Of 10 convicted enlisted members, 7 received a punitive discharge (70%), compared with 50%. Based on 12 cases · 2017–2025 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026 ## Long Confinement Terms The cases produced 10 convictions, and 6 of those sentences included confinement. The median confinement was 5 years, longer than the 7 months across all contested Navy and Marine Corps cases from 2017 through 2025. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in the case, and many of these cases included other serious charges. ## Charged With Sexual Abuse and Domestic Violence Article 119b was the only charge in 3 of the 12 cases. Article 128b (domestic violence, numbered since 2019) appeared in 5\. Article 120b (child sexual abuse) appeared in 4, Article 131b (obstruction, numbered since 2019) and Article 120 (sexual assault) in 3 each, and Article 115 (malingering before 2019; communicating threats since) in 2. ## Punitive Discharges Among the 10 enlisted members convicted, 7 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (70%), and 3 of those were dishonorable. Across all contested Navy and Marine Corps cases, the share was 50%. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation. ## Acquittals In every case, the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge. Full acquittals came in 17% of the 12 cases, lower than the 31% across all contested Navy and Marine Corps cases. Another 4 cases were partial acquittals: not guilty of some charges or specifications and guilty of others. ## NCOs and General Courts-Martial The accused were 4 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) and 8 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), with 0 officers or warrant officers. Across all contested Navy and Marine Corps cases, 49% of the accused were junior enlisted, so this group was more senior. General courts-martial made up 67% of the cases (8 of 12). A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. ## Trials by Year and Law Changes The trials ran from June 2018 through August 2025: 2 in 2018, 2 in 2021, 6 in 2024, and 2 in 2025, with 0 in the other years. The year with the most trials was 2024, with 6\. Those trials came after changes made in December 2023: special trial counsel began deciding whether to prosecute covered offenses, which include sexual assault and domestic violence, and military judges began sentencing within parameters when all guilty findings are for offenses after December 27, 2023\. Earlier, from January 1, 2019, the Military Justice Act of 2016 fixed panel sizes and brought in written plea agreements. Each rule depends on the offense date, which these records lack. ## Gaps Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea and forum. The records do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or conduct handled outside a court-martial. Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: [UCMJ change timeline](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/ucmj-change-timeline/). ### How We Counted Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial tried 2017–2025: where the accused contested a charge under Article 119b (child endangerment) (12 cases), compared with all contested Navy and Marine Corps cases in those years. Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in [Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/), data updated October 24, 2026\. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: [how this data was built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/how-the-military-trial-results-data-was-built/). Errors: content@bodiesburied.com. ## Related Analysis - [Article 119b (Child Endangerment, Numbered Since 2019): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-119b-courts-martial/) (hub) - [By Offense](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-offense/) (hub) - [Fewer or More? Child Endangerment Charges at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2017–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-119b-trend-2017-2025/) - [What Sentence Follows a Navy-Marine Corps Child Endangerment Conviction?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-119b-sent-2017-2025/) - [Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Child Endangerment Cases: How Often, and What Came Next](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-119b-plea-2017-2025/) - [Fighting an Army Child Endangerment Charge: How Contested Cases Ended](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-119b-acq-2021-2025/) (another service) - [Fighting a Navy-Marine Corps AWOL Charge: How Contested Cases Ended](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-86-acq-2017-2025/) - [Fighting a Navy-Marine Corps Child Sexual Abuse Charge: How Contested Cases Ended](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-120b-acq-2017-2025/) - [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members) **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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.