What Happens to Navy-Marine Corps NCOs (E-5 to E-9) Facing Child Endangerment Charges?
The records hold 22 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial from 2017–2025 that charged NCOs (E-5 to E-9) under Article 119b (child endangerment, numbered since 2019). The median confinement was 2 years, compared with 8 months across all Navy and Marine Corps Article 119b cases.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 5 min read
Trends › By Offense › Article 119b › NCOs (E-5 to E-9)
Short answer: The records hold 22 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial from 2017–2025 that charged NCOs (E-5 to E-9) under Article 119b (child endangerment, numbered since 2019). The median confinement was 2 years, compared with 8 months across all Navy and Marine Corps Article 119b cases. The contested share was 50% of cases with a plea recorded, compared with 39% in the wider group.
Longer Confinement Than the Wider Group
Of 21 convictions, 15 included confinement. The median confinement was 2 years. Across all Navy and Marine Corps Article 119b cases, the median was 8 months.
Among the confinement sentences, a quarter were 5 years or longer. Sentences longer than one year made up 8 of 21 convictions (38%), compared with 32% in the wider group. The band table shows that 5 convictions carried 5 years or more (24%), compared with 14%. At the other end, 6 convictions carried no confinement (29%), compared with 20%.
These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in the case.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Navy and Marine Corps Article 119b cases |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 6 | 29% | 20% |
| Under 6 months | 5 | 24% | 25% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 2 | 10% | 23% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 3 | 14% | 18% |
| 5 years or more | 5 | 24% | 14% |
General and Special Courts-Martial
A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. Here, 12 of the 22 cases were general courts-martial (55%), compared with 47% across all Navy and Marine Corps Article 119b cases.
At general courts-martial, 75% of convictions included confinement, with a median of 5 years. At special courts-martial (10 cases), 6 of 9 convictions included confinement, with a median of 2 months.
Assault Was the Most Common Other Charge
Article 119b was the only charge in 6 of the 22 cases, compared with 16 of 47 across all Navy and Marine Corps Article 119b cases. Article 128 (assault) appeared in 8 cases. Article 120b (child sexual abuse) and Article 120 (sexual assault) each appeared in 4. Article 128b (domestic violence, numbered since 2019) and Article 115 (malingering before 2019; communicating threats since) each appeared in 3.
Because a sentence covers every charge, these other charges are part of the confinement figures above.
Pleas Recorded in 16 of 22 Cases
A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Of the 16 records that list the plea, 8 were guilty pleas and 8 were contested. Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea, so these shares use only the records that list it.
Punitive Discharges
Of 21 convicted NCOs, 11 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (52%), about the same as the 54% across all Navy and Marine Corps Article 119b cases. Of those 11, 5 were dishonorable discharges. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Years and Installations
The cases were tried from January 2017 through November 2025: 4 in 2017, 4 in 2018, 0 in 2019 and 2020, 1 in 2021, 3 in 2022, 0 in 2023, 7 in 2024, and 3 in 2025.
Mayport, Florida, Quantico, Virginia, and Okinawa, Japan each had 3 cases. Norfolk, Virginia and MCAS Yuma, Arizona each had 2. Together these 5 installations account for 59% of the 22 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a count alone does not show a problem at any base.
Rule Changes and Gaps in the Records
Two sets of changes fall inside this period. The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as domestic violence, and judges sentence within new parameters when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. Both depend on the offense date, which the records do not give, so the 2024 and 2025 trials mix old-rule and new-rule cases.
The records cover courts-martial only. They do not include nonjudicial punishment, administrative separations, the evidence, or the plea terms.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial tried 2017–2025 that charged NCOs (E-5 to E-9) under Article 119b (22 cases), compared with every Navy and Marine Corps Article 119b case.
Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in Military Trial Results, data updated October 24, 2026. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: how this data was built. Errors: content@bodiesburied.com.
Related Analysis
- Article 119b (Child Endangerment, Numbered Since 2019): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- Army Child Endangerment Cases Against Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4): Outcomes and Sentences
- NCOs (E-5 to E-9) Charged Under Article 119b in the Army
- Navy-Marine Corps Child Endangerment Cases Against Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4): Outcomes and Sentences
- Army Article 119b Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025
- Fewer or More? Child Endangerment Charges at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2017–2025
- Search every case in 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. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.