Sexual Assault at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2022: The Year in Numbers

Trends › By Offense › Article 120 › Navy-Marine Corps, 2022

Based on 32 cases · 2022 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Most Contested Cases Ended in a Full Acquittal

A contested case is one where the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. In 2022, 15 contested cases reached a verdict, and 10 of them ended in a full acquittal (not guilty of every charge). That 67% full-acquittal rate was much higher than the 20% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases.

None of the decided contested cases ended in a partial acquittal, which means not guilty of at least one charge or specification but guilty of another. Each contested Article 120 case this year ended either in a full acquittal or in a conviction.

About Half of the Accused Pleaded Guilty

Of the 32 accused, 17 pleaded guilty and 15 contested at least one charge. The contested share was 47%. For all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2022, it was 33%. Records from this period list the plea much more often than records from before December 2020.

This matters when comparing years. The contested share here includes every case in the group. Figures for earlier years use only the records that list a plea.

Shorter Terms Than the Year Before

Of 22 convictions, 91% included confinement. The median confinement was 8 months, close to the 6 months for all Navy and Marine Corps cases. A quarter of terms were 2 years or more.

These are adjudged sentences, announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in the case.

Sentences Differed by Court Level

A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. Here, the median confinement was 1.3 years at the 22 general courts-martial and 7 months at the 10 special courts-martial.

The contested share was 64% at general courts-martial and 10% at special courts-martial. General courts-martial made up 69% of these cases, compared with 42% in all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2022.

Sentence Lengths

Sentences were spread across the ranges. Terms under 6 months and terms of 6 months to 1 year each made up 7 convictions (32%). Confinement of more than one year was adjudged in 6 of 22 convictions (27%), compared with 20% for the service. Of those, 2 were 5 years or more.

Only 2 convictions (9%) included no confinement, lower than the 17% share for the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole.

Discharges After Conviction

A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. One was part of the sentence in 82% of enlisted convictions: 9 of each kind. That compares with 64% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2022. A sentence without one does not rule out a later administrative separation, which these records do not track.

The records give no dismissal count for officers this year. These figures describe enlisted members only.

Rank and Other Charges

The accused were 20 junior enlisted members, 10 NCOs, and 2 officers. That rank mix was similar to all Navy and Marine Corps cases that year.

Article 120 was the only charge in 7 of 32 cases. Other cases included Article 128 (assault) in 13, Article 129 (burglary and unlawful entry) in 5, Article 120b (child sexual abuse) in 4, and Article 92 (orders violation) and Article 107 (false official statement) in 3 each.

What Changed Since 2021

The number of cases went from 78 in 2021 to 32 in 2022. Median confinement went from 1 year to 8 months. The general court-martial share went from 82% to 69%. The contested share went from 56% to 47%.

Full acquittals in decided contested cases went from 19 of 42 to 10 of 15. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 75% to 82%. Convictions that included confinement were about the same, 90% and then 91%. Small groups can change by a few cases, so these changes show direction, not precise size.

Installations and Limits of the Data

Norfolk, Virginia, tried 7 of these cases. Bremerton, Washington, tried 4, and Okinawa, Japan, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and Pensacola, Florida, tried 3 each. Together they account for 62% of the 32 cases. Large installations try more of every kind of case.

The records show charges, pleas, findings, and sentences. They do not show the evidence, plea terms, offense dates, or conduct handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 120 on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.

Compare: federal court. Sexual Abuse of an Adult: Federal Cases vs. Article 120 Courts-Martial

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.