What Sentence Follows a Navy-Marine Corps Child Endangerment Conviction?

Trends › By Offense › Article 119b › What Sentence Follows a Navy-Marine Corp

Based on 44 cases · 2017–2025 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

A Wide Range of Sentences

This page covers only Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial that ended in a conviction under Article 119b, the child endangerment article. The sentences here varied more than in most groups.

Terms of 5 years or more made up 14% of convictions (6 cases), compared with 7% across all Navy and Marine Corps convictions. A quarter of terms were 2.3 years or longer. Confinement of more than one year was adjudged in 14 of 44 convictions (32%), compared with 25%. No confinement was adjudged in 20% of convictions, compared with 18%. Terms under 6 months were less common: 25% compared with 35%.

Sentences by Court Level

The 44 cases include 21 general courts-martial and 23 special courts-martial. The general court-martial share of 48% was higher than the 41% for all Navy and Marine Corps convictions.

At general courts-martial, the median confinement was 2.2 years, and 47% of cases were contested. At special courts-martial, the median was 3 months, and 21% were contested. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

Overall, 35 of the 44 convictions included confinement, with a median of 8 months. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. They cover every charge in the case.

Violent Offenses Were Often Charged Too

Article 119b was the only charge in 14 of the 44 cases. Article 128 assault was also charged in 14 cases and Article 128b domestic violence in 11. Article 131b obstruction of justice appeared in 7, and Article 120b child sexual abuse and Article 120 sexual assault in 5 each.

A sentence covers every charge, and the records do not divide it by charge. The part of any term that relates to the endangerment charge itself is unknown.

Punitive Discharges Were Less Common Than Usual

Of 41 convicted enlisted members, 22 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge, and 9 of those were dishonorable. The 54% rate was lower than the 62% across all Navy and Marine Corps convictions.

None of the 3 convicted officers or warrant officers was sentenced to dismissal. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation, which these records do not show.

More Cases Were Contested, With Some Partial Acquittals

Of the 29 records that list a plea, 19 were guilty pleas and 10 were contested with a not-guilty or mixed plea. The 34% contested share was higher than the 24% for all Navy and Marine Corps convictions. Navy and Marine Corps records from the earlier years often omit the plea, so the share uses only records that list one.

Every case here ended in a conviction, so this group does not show full acquittals. It does show partial acquittals. In 4 of the 10 contested cases, the accused was found not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another.

The Accused Were More Senior Than Usual

The accused were 20 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 21 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 3 officers or warrant officers. Across all Navy and Marine Corps convictions, 65% were junior enlisted. The accused here were more senior.

This offense was often charged together with domestic violence and assault. The records do not explain why the accused in these cases were more senior.

Locations and Years

Camp Pendleton, California, had 6 cases. Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, Mayport, Florida, and Quantico, Virginia, had 5 each. Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, had 4. Together they account for 57% of the cases.

There were 6 cases in 2017, 5 in 2018, 3 in 2019, 4 in 2020, 3 in 2021, 5 in 2022, 2 in 2023, 8 in 2024, and 8 in 2025.

Law Changes During These Years

The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. Cases with offenses before then kept the old rules. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as domestic violence. For offenses after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. All of these rules depend on offense dates.

What the Records Do Not Show

The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not describe the evidence, the child's circumstances, or plea terms. Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea. Cases handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation do not appear.

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.