Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Sexual Assault Cases: How Often, and What Came Next

Trends › By Offense › Article 120 › Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Sexual

Based on 113 cases · 2017–2025 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Confinement in Nearly Every Case

Almost every guilty plea that included Article 120 resulted in confinement: 108 of 113 sentences (96%). The median confinement was 1.4 years, compared with 6 months across all Navy and Marine Corps guilty pleas in those years. A quarter of sentences were 5 years or longer.

These figures are adjudged sentences, the terms announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case. Cases with other serious charges are counted with their full sentence.

Most Terms Were Longer Than 1 Year

Confinement of more than one year was adjudged in 62 of 113 convictions (55%), compared with 21% across Navy and Marine Corps guilty pleas. Terms of more than 1 year and under 5 years made up 31%, compared with 16%. Terms of 5 years or more made up 24%, compared with 5%.

Shorter sentences were much less common. Only 5 convictions (4%) included no confinement, compared with 15%. Terms under 6 months made up 18%, compared with 40%. Terms of 6 months to 1 year were about the same: 23% compared with 24%.

Most Punitive Discharges Were Dishonorable

Of 109 convicted enlisted members, 98 received a punitive discharge: 57 dishonorable discharges and 41 bad-conduct discharges. Across all Navy and Marine Corps guilty pleas, the punitive discharge share was 60%.

Both of the 2 convicted officers or warrant officers were sentenced to dismissal. Only a general court-martial can adjudge a dishonorable discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Most Cases Were General Courts-Martial

General courts-martial handled 85 of the 113 cases (75%), compared with 37% across all Navy and Marine Corps guilty pleas. Special courts-martial, which cap confinement at one year, handled 28.

Sentences differed by court level. The median confinement was 2.5 years at general courts-martial and 6 months at special courts-martial.

Other Charges

Article 120 was the only charge in 25 of the 113 cases. Assault under Article 128 was the most common other charge, in 63 cases. Article 120b (child sexual abuse) appeared in 23, Article 80 (attempt) in 19, Article 134 (the general article) in 18, and Article 92 (orders violation) in 13.

One sentence covers all charges. The records therefore cannot separate the part of a term for the sexual assault charge from the part for another charge in the same case, such as child sexual abuse.

Rank of the Accused

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 68% of the accused, NCOs 31%, and officers 2%. Across all Navy and Marine Corps guilty pleas in those years, junior enlisted members were 65%. The rank mix here was close to the service overall.

Most Cases in 2021

Trials took place from January 2017 to August 2025. There were 21 cases in 2017, 7 in 2018, 7 in 2019, 8 in 2020, and 33 in 2021. There were 17 in 2022, 9 in 2023, 8 in 2024, and 3 in 2025. The records cannot show the reason for the 2021 figure.

Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and Norfolk, Virginia, had 17 cases each. San Diego, California, had 16; Bremerton, Washington, 9; and Okinawa, Japan, 8. Together those five locations had 59% of the 113 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.

A Covered Offense With a Changing Definition

Article 120 was rewritten in 2012 and amended again for offenses on or after January 1, 2019. Each case is charged under the version in force when the offense happened. The Military Justice Act of 2016, effective January 1, 2019, also brought written plea agreements and fixed panel sizes.

Article 120 is a covered offense. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute it. When every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so trials from 2024 on include both old-rule and new-rule cases. The data cannot show whether either change affected outcomes.

Limits of the Data

The records do not describe the evidence, the plea terms, or the version of Article 120 charged. Allegations that never reached a court-martial are not included.

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.