Navy-Marine Corps Article 120b Cases in 2025
The median confinement in the 2025 Navy and Marine Corps child sexual abuse cases was 7.5 years, compared with 4 months for all Navy and Marine Corps cases that year.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 5 min read
Trends › By Offense › Article 120b › Navy-Marine Corps, 2025
Short answer: The median confinement in the 2025 Navy and Marine Corps child sexual abuse cases was 7.5 years, compared with 4 months for all Navy and Marine Corps cases that year. The records hold 13 courts-martial charging Article 120b (child sexual abuse), and all 10 convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge (100%), compared with 46% across the service.
Median Confinement of 7.5 Years
Of the 13 cases, 10 ended in a conviction on at least one charge, and all 10 sentences included confinement. The median was 7.5 years, longer than the 4 months for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2025. Among those sentences, a quarter were 15 years or longer.
These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case.
Changes From 2024
The case count went from 20 in 2024 to 13 in 2025. The median confinement went from 2 years to 7.5 years. Convictions with confinement went from 89% to 100%, and punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 94% to 100%.
The contested share went from 25% to 38%. Full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict went from 1 of 5 to 3 of 5. With groups this small, a few cases can move these figures, so they show direction rather than precise change.
| 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 20 | 13 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 25% | 38% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 1 of 5 | 3 of 5 |
| Convictions with confinement | 89% | 100% |
| Median confinement | 2 years | 7.5 years |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 94% | 100% |
| General courts-martial | 90% | 92% |
Discharges
All 10 convicted enlisted members received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge, and 9 of those were dishonorable. For all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2025, the share with a punitive discharge was 46%.
Court Level
General courts-martial heard 12 of the 13 cases, and a special court-martial heard 1. The general share, 92%, was higher than the 36% for all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2025. Only a general court-martial can impose a dishonorable discharge or confinement longer than one year.
Pleas and Rank
Guilty pleas ended 8 cases, and 5 were contested with a not-guilty or mixed plea. The contested share, 38%, was about the same as the 37% across the service.
Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 67% of the accused and NCOs 33%. No officers appear. Across all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2025, junior enlisted members were 62%.
Other Charges
Only 3 of the 13 cases charged Article 120b by itself. Article 134 (general article) appeared in 7, Article 80 (attempt) and Article 131b (obstruction) in 3 each, Article 120c (indecent recording and exposure) in 2, and Article 82 (solicitation) in 1.
Rules for Covered Offenses
Article 120b is a covered offense. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses. For cases where every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence under new sentencing parameters. The records give trial dates, from January 2025 through November 2025, not offense dates, so they cannot show which rules applied to each case.
What the Records Do Not Show
Trial records show the charges, pleas, findings, and sentence. They do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or conduct handled outside a court-martial.
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.
How We Counted
Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial with a trial date in 2025 that charged Article 120b (13 cases), compared with all Navy and Marine Corps cases that year and with 2024.
Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in Military Trial Results, data updated October 24, 2026. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: how this data was built. Errors: content@bodiesburied.com.
Related Analysis
- Article 120b (Rape and Sexual Assault of a Child): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Year (hub)
- How Navy-Marine Corps Child Sexual Abuse Cases Ended in 2021 (previous / next)
- Fewer or More? Child Sexual Abuse Charges at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2017–2025 (the full trend)
- Child Sexual Abuse at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2018: The Year in Numbers
- Child Sexual Abuse at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2019: The Year in Numbers
- How Navy-Marine Corps Child Sexual Abuse Cases Ended in 2017
- How Navy-Marine Corps Child Sexual Abuse Cases Ended in 2020
- What Sentence Follows a Navy-Marine Corps Child Sexual Abuse Conviction?
- Article 120b explained on the law firm's website
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
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.