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# Navy-Marine Corps Child Endangerment Cases Against Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4): Outcomes and Sentences
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-119b-junior-enlisted/
- Published: 2026-10-30T08:13:51.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-30T08:13:51.000Z
- Description: Navy and Marine Corps records hold 21 courts-martial from 2017–2025 that charged junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) under Article 119b (child endangerment, numbered since 2019).
- 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/) › Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4)

**Short answer:** Navy and Marine Corps records hold 21 courts-martial from 2017–2025 that charged junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) under Article 119b (child endangerment, numbered since 2019). The median confinement was 6 months, shorter than the 8 months in all Navy and Marine Corps Article 119b cases, and 31% of the cases with a plea recorded were contested, compared with 39%.

Based on 21 cases · 2017–2025 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

## Locations With the Most Cases

Camp Pendleton, California had 5 cases. Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay had 4 and Camp Lejeune, North Carolina had 3\. Mayport, Florida and Quantico, Virginia had 2 each. These five locations account for 76% of the 21 cases.

Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count alone does not mean a base has a problem with this offense.

## Sentence Lengths

There were 20 convictions, and confinement was part of 90% of them. Half of those terms were 6 months or less. In all Navy and Marine Corps Article 119b cases the median was 8 months.

Sentences longer than one year were less common here: 5 of 20 convictions (25%), compared with 32%. The largest band was 6 months to 1 year, with 7 convictions (35%). A quarter of the sentences with confinement were 1.7 years or longer. These are adjudged sentences for every charge in the case, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.

| Adjudged confinement            | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Navy and Marine Corps Article 119b cases |
| ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | --------------------------------------------------- |
| No confinement                  | 2           | 10%        | 20%                                                 |
| Under 6 months                  | 6           | 30%        | 25%                                                 |
| 6 months to 1 year              | 7           | 35%        | 23%                                                 |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 4           | 20%        | 18%                                                 |
| 5 years or more                 | 1           | 5%         | 14%                                                 |

## Punitive Discharges

11 of the 20 convicted members received a punitive discharge: 7 bad-conduct and 4 dishonorable. In all Navy and Marine Corps Article 119b cases the rate was 54%. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

## Pleas

13 of the 21 records list the plea. Of those, 9 were guilty pleas and 4 were not-guilty or mixed pleas. The contested share of 31% is lower than the 39% in all Navy and Marine Corps Article 119b cases. Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea.

## Domestic Violence and Assault Charges

Article 119b was the only charge in 9 of the 21 cases. Article 128b (domestic violence, numbered since 2019) appeared in 7 and Article 128 (assault) in 6\. Article 131b (obstruction, numbered since 2019) appeared in 4, Article 92 (orders violation) in 3, and Article 90 (disobeying an officer) in 2.

## Court Level and Rank

8 of the 21 cases were general courts-martial (38%), and special courts-martial made up the rest. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year.

Junior enlisted members were 46% of the accused in all Navy and Marine Corps Article 119b cases. This group is limited to them.

## Years, Rules, and Limits

The trials ran from March 2017 to August 2025, with 2 in 2017, 1 in 2018, 3 in 2019, 3 in 2020, 2 in 2021, 2 in 2022, 1 in 2023, 2 in 2024, and 5 in 2025\. The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019, and since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so they cannot show which rules applied to a given trial.

The records do not describe the evidence or the plea terms, and they leave out nonjudicial punishment and administrative separations.

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 that charged junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) under Article 119b (21 cases), compared with every Navy and Marine Corps Article 119b case.

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)
- [Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial/) (hub)
- [Army Child Endangerment Cases Against Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4): Outcomes and Sentences](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-119b-junior-enlisted/)
- [NCOs (E-5 to E-9) Charged Under Article 119b in the Army](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-119b-ncos/)
- [What Happens to Navy-Marine Corps NCOs (E-5 to E-9) Facing Child Endangerment Charges?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-119b-ncos/)
- [Army Article 119b Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-119b-trend-2021-2025/)
- [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/)
- [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.