How Navy-Marine Corps Child Sexual Abuse Cases Ended in 2017

Trends › By Offense › Article 120b › Navy-Marine Corps, 2017

Based on 49 cases · 2017 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Every Conviction Included Confinement

All 45 convictions in this group included confinement, a rate of 100%. Across all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2017, 10% of convictions included no confinement. In this group, none did.

The median confinement was 3 years, compared with 8 months for the service as a whole. A quarter of the terms were 9 years or more. These are adjudged sentences, announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. They cover all charges in the case, not only the Article 120b charge.

In these 2017 cases, every conviction included confinement. A sentence without confinement can still include other punishment, such as a punitive discharge, but no conviction here ended that way.

Most Sentences Were Longer Than 1 Year

Of the 45 convictions, 41 (91%) included more than one year of confinement, compared with 31% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Of the convictions, 23 (51%) were between 1 and 5 years and 18 (40%) were 5 years or more. Only 10% of all Navy and Marine Corps convictions were 5 years or more.

Short sentences were rare: 1 conviction included under 6 months and 3 included 6 months to 1 year. Only a general court-martial can impose more than a year of confinement.

Nearly Every Case Was a General Court-Martial

A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge or dismissal. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. Of these 49 cases, 48 were general courts-martial (98%), and 1 was a special court-martial.

Almost All Enlisted Members Received a Punitive Discharge

A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. One was part of the sentence in 98% of enlisted convictions: 32 dishonorable discharges and 8 bad-conduct discharges. That rate compares with 68% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2017.

The records show 4 convicted officers or warrant officers, and all 4 were sentenced to dismissal, the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. When a sentence includes no discharge, an administrative separation can still follow. These records do not show administrative separations.

The Accused Were More Senior Than Usual

The accused included 24 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 18 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 5 officers or warrant officers. Across all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2017, 66% of the accused were junior enlisted. The accused here were more senior than in the typical court-martial.

Pleas, Where Recorded

Only 24 of the 49 records list the plea. Of those, 21 accused pleaded guilty and 3 contested at least one charge with a not-guilty or mixed plea. That 12% contested share was lower than the 26% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2017. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. A plea of not guilty to some charges and guilty to others is a mixed plea.

Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea. The cases without a recorded plea could be different. These figures describe only the cases with a recorded plea.

Other Charges

Only 6 of the 49 cases charged Article 120b alone. Article 120 (sexual assault) was also charged in 28 cases, Article 128 (assault) in 25, Article 80 (attempt) in 24, Article 134 (general article) in 18, and Article 82 (solicitation) in 7.

Where the Trials Took Place

Okinawa, Japan, had the most cases, with 9. Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, had 7; Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and Camp Pendleton, California, 4 each; and Yokosuka, Japan, 3. Those installations account for 55% of the 49 cases. A larger base tries more cases of all types, so a count alone says little about any single installation.

Most of these are large Marine Corps or overseas installations. The records show where the court-martial took place, not where the conduct took place.

Before the 2019 Changes, and What the Records Do Not Show

These trials took place before the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. Its changes, including fixed panel sizes, judge-alone special courts-martial with a six-month cap, and written plea agreements, did not apply here.

The records list trial dates but not offense dates. They do not describe the evidence or any plea terms. They do not include matters resolved through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.

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

Compare: federal court. Child Sexual Abuse and Enticement: Federal Cases vs. Article 120b 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.