Navy-Marine Corps Child Sexual Abuse Cases Against Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4): Outcomes and Sentences

Trends › By Offense › Article 120b › Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4)

Based on 127 cases · 2017–2025 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Most Cases Ended in a Guilty Plea

Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often leave out the plea, and 77 of 127 records list one. Of those, 65 were guilty pleas and 12 were not-guilty or mixed pleas. That makes 16% contested, compared with 34% for all Navy and Marine Corps Article 120b cases.

Of the 12 contested cases that reached a verdict, 2 ended in a full acquittal (17%), compared with 32% for all Navy and Marine Corps Article 120b cases. Another 2 ended in a partial acquittal: not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another.

Almost Every Conviction Included Confinement

Of the 125 convictions, 122 included confinement (98%). The median confinement was 2 years, shorter than the 3 years for all Navy and Marine Corps Article 120b cases. A quarter of those terms were 7 years or longer.

89 of 125 convictions (71%) included confinement longer than one year, compared with 76% for all Article 120b cases. Terms of 5 years or more were 30% of convictions, compared with 37%. Terms of 6 months to 1 year were more common: 22% compared with 17%. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and they cover every charge in the case.

Almost Every Enlisted Conviction Included a Punitive Discharge

97% of enlisted convictions included a punitive discharge: 85 dishonorable discharges and 36 bad-conduct discharges. The rate for all Navy and Marine Corps Article 120b cases was also 97%. Dishonorable discharges, the more severe kind, were more common than bad-conduct discharges in this group. A convicted member without a punitive discharge could still face an administrative separation. Those separations are not in these records.

Almost All Cases Were General Courts-Martial

A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. Of these cases, 119 were general courts-martial and 8 were special courts-martial, which cap confinement at one year. The general court-martial share, 94%, is about the same as the 95% for all Navy and Marine Corps Article 120b cases.

Attempt and General-Article Charges Were Common

Article 120b was the only charge in 22 of 127 cases, compared with 48 of 263 for all Navy and Marine Corps Article 120b cases. Article 134 (general article) and Article 80 (attempt) each appeared in 52 cases, Article 120 (sexual assault) in 36, Article 128 (assault) in 32, and Article 82 (solicitation) in 15.

Attempt and solicitation charges were common in these cases. The records do not describe the facts behind any charge. Each sentence covers every charge in the case.

Rank of the Accused

All 127 accused were junior enlisted, while junior enlisted made up 49% of all Navy and Marine Corps Article 120b cases. These records do not reliably show whether a judge or members decided guilt, so this post does not report it.

When and Where the Cases Were Tried

The cases run from January 2017 to November 2025: 24 in 2017, 20 in 2018, 13 in 2019, 19 in 2020, 20 in 2021, 6 in 2022, 8 in 2023, 9 in 2024, and 8 in 2025.

Camp Lejeune, North Carolina had 24 cases, Okinawa, Japan had 22, Camp Pendleton, California had 13, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay had 9, and Bremerton, Washington had 8. These five account for 60% of the 127. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count does not by itself point to a problem at a base.

Rule Changes in the Period

The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. It set fixed panel sizes, created judge-alone special courts-martial capped at six months with no punitive discharge, and brought in written plea agreements. Offenses from before 2019 kept the old rules. Article 120b is a covered offense. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses.

Judges also sentence within new parameters when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. Both changes depend on offense dates, which these records do not give.

Beyond the Records

Cases closed through nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action are not counted. The data shows only cases that went to court-martial. The records do not describe the evidence, the age of any victim, or the terms of plea agreements. The sentences cannot be tied to particular facts.

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.