Child Sexual Abuse at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2018: The Year in Numbers

Trends › By Offense › Article 120b › Navy-Marine Corps, 2018

Based on 50 cases · 2018 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

More Contested Cases Than in 2017

The largest change from the prior year was in pleas. Where the plea was recorded, the contested share went from 12% in 2017 to 58% in 2018. A contested case is one in which the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge, either with a not-guilty plea or a mixed plea.

Only 24 of the 50 records list a plea: 14 were not-guilty or mixed pleas and 10 were guilty pleas. Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often leave the plea blank. These shares describe only the cases with a recorded plea.

Few Full Acquittals

All 14 contested cases reached a verdict, and 3 ended in a full acquittal, a rate of 21%. That was lower than the 46% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2018. No decided contested case ended in a partial acquittal, which means a not-guilty finding on some charges and a conviction on others.

With only 14 decided contested cases, a single verdict changes the rate noticeably. In this year, most contested Article 120b cases ended in a conviction on at least one charge.

Confinement Terms

Of 46 convictions, 42 included confinement. The median confinement was 2.1 years, much higher than the 7 months across the Navy and Marine Corps. A quarter of the terms were 5 years or longer.

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

Only 4 convictions included no confinement, a 9% share, compared with 15% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2018.

Sentence Lengths Compared With the Service

Confinement of more than a year was adjudged in 32 of the 46 convictions (70%), compared with 30% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases. That included 21 convictions (46%) between 1 and 5 years and 11 (24%) of 5 years or more.

At the lower end, 7 convictions (15%) included 6 months to 1 year, 3 included under 6 months, and 4 included no confinement. Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year. A special court-martial is capped at one year.

Punitive Discharges and Dismissals

Of 43 convicted enlisted members, 41 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (95%), compared with 66% for the service as a whole. Of those discharges, 29 were dishonorable.

The records also list 3 convicted officers or warrant officers, and all 3 were sentenced to dismissal. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation, which these records do not cover.

Who Was Charged

There were more NCOs (E-5 to E-9) than junior enlisted members here: 25 NCOs and 20 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), along with 4 officers or warrant officers. Across all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2018, 61% of the accused were junior enlisted.

By court level, 47 cases were general courts-martial and 3 were special courts-martial. The general court-martial share of 94% compares with 45% for the service. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including a dishonorable discharge.

Attempt Was the Most Common Other Charge

Article 120b was the only charge in 6 of the 50 cases. Article 80 (attempt) was the most common other charge, in 30 cases. Article 120 (sexual assault) appeared in 22, Article 128 (assault) in 18, Article 134 (general article) in 11, and Article 82 (solicitation) in 4.

A sentence covers every charge. The confinement and discharge figures above therefore include these other charges. The records cannot show how much of a sentence relates to the Article 120b charge itself.

From 2017 to 2018

The number of cases was almost the same: 49 in 2017 and 50 in 2018. Median confinement went from 3 years to 2.1 years. Convictions that included confinement went from 100% to 91%. Full acquittals in decided contested cases went from 2 of 3 to 3 of 14.

Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 98% to 95%, and the general court-martial share from 98% to 94%. Small groups can change by a few cases, so the changes show direction more than size.

Installations and Missing Information

Okinawa, Japan, tried 10 of these cases. Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, tried 6, and San Diego, California, Camp Pendleton, California, and Yokosuka, Japan, tried 5 each. Together they account for 62% of the total. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.

These trials took place before the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. The records give no offense dates and no description of the evidence or plea terms. They do not include matters handled by 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.