> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # What Sentence Follows a Navy-Marine Corps Child Sexual Abuse Conviction? - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-120b-sent-2017-2025/ - Published: 2026-10-28T08:06:04.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-03T01:47:00.000Z - Description: The 241 Navy and Marine Corps convictions under Article 120b (child sexual abuse) from 2017–2025 had a median confinement of 3 years. The median for all Navy and Marine Corps convictions was 6 months. 232 of these convictions included confinement, and 76% included more than one year. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Article 120b, Navy-Marine Corps [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Offense](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-offense/) › [Article 120b](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-120b-courts-martial/) › What Sentence Follows a Navy-Marine Corp **Short answer:** The 241 Navy and Marine Corps convictions under Article 120b (child sexual abuse) from 2017–2025 had a median confinement of 3 years. The median for all Navy and Marine Corps convictions was 6 months. 232 of these convictions included confinement, and 76% included more than one year. 97% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge. Based on 241 cases · 2017–2025 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026 ## Confinement Was Much Longer Than for Other Convictions Confinement for child sexual abuse convictions was much longer than for most Navy and Marine Corps convictions. Only 9 of the 241 sentences had no confinement. Among those that did, the median confinement was 3 years, and a quarter were 8 years or longer. One sentence was for life. Most of these sentences included more than one year of confinement. 93 convictions (39%) included more than one year but under five years, and 89 (37%) included 5 years or more. For all Navy and Marine Corps convictions, those shares were 18% and 7%. 9 convictions included under 6 months, which is 4%, compared with 35% for all Navy and Marine Corps convictions. These are adjudged sentences, as imposed at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. They cover every charge in the case. | Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Navy and Marine Corps convictions in those years | | ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- | | No confinement | 9 | 4% | 18% | | Under 6 months | 9 | 4% | 35% | | 6 months to 1 year | 41 | 17% | 22% | | More than 1 year, under 5 years | 93 | 39% | 18% | | 5 years or more | 89 | 37% | 7% | ## Almost Every Enlisted Conviction Included a Punitive Discharge Of 230 convicted enlisted members, 224 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (97%), compared with 62% for all Navy and Marine Corps convictions. Dishonorable discharges made up 167 of those 224\. A dishonorable discharge can come only from a general court-martial. All 10 convicted officers or warrant officers were dismissed (10 of 10), the officer counterpart of a punitive discharge. ## Almost All Cases Were General Courts-Martial 228 of the 241 cases (95%) were general courts-martial, compared with 41% for all Navy and Marine Corps convictions. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year. The median confinement was 8 months at the 13 special courts-martial and 3 years at the general courts-martial. Contested shares were 26% at the general level and 20% at the special level. ## Most Accused Pleaded Guilty Among 156 records that list a plea, 116 accused pleaded guilty and 40 contested at least one charge, meaning a not-guilty or mixed plea. That makes 26% contested, about the same as the 24% for all Navy and Marine Corps convictions. This post covers convictions only, so no case here ended in a full acquittal. 7 of the 40 contested cases ended in a partial acquittal: not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another. ## Other Charges in These Cases Article 120b was the only charge in 43 cases. In the other cases it was charged with other articles: Article 80 (attempt) in 106 cases, Article 120 (sexual assault) in 85, Article 134 (general article) in 80, Article 128 (assault) in 73, and Article 82 (solicitation) in 22. The frequency of Article 80 means many of these cases included an attempted offense. A sentence covers all findings together. It cannot be traced to the Article 120b finding alone. ## Rank of the Accused Among the accused with rank recorded, 125 were junior enlisted, 105 were NCOs, and 10 were officers. This group is more senior than all Navy and Marine Corps convictions in these years. ## Timeline and Locations The trials took place from January 2017 through November 2025\. There were 45 cases in 2017 and 46 in 2018\. There were 30 to 33 a year through 2021, and between 10 and 19 a year from 2022 on. The records do not show the reason for the change. Okinawa, Japan had the most cases (36), followed by Camp Lejeune, North Carolina (35), Camp Pendleton, California (22), San Diego, California (20), and Bremerton, Washington (16). These five together account for 54% of the 241\. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count partly reflects how many cases an installation tries overall. ## Law Changes Over 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, and introduced written plea agreements. Article 120b is a covered offense. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute it. For offenses after December 27, 2023, the judge sets the sentence within new parameters. The records lack offense dates, so they cannot show which rules governed a given case. ## Limits of the Data The records show the outcome of each trial, not the evidence, the plea terms, or the ages and circumstances involved. They also leave out conduct handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation. They give trial dates, not offense dates. Records before December 2020 often omit the plea, so plea counts use only the records that list one. For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see [Article 120b on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-120b/?ref=bodiesburied.com). Dates and sources for the law changes: [UCMJ change timeline](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/ucmj-change-timeline/). ### How We Counted Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial tried 2017–2025: ending in a conviction under Article 120b (child sexual abuse) (241 cases), compared with all Navy and Marine Corps convictions in those years. Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in [Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/), data updated October 24, 2026\. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: [how this data was built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/how-the-military-trial-results-data-was-built/). Errors: content@bodiesburied.com. ## Related Analysis - [Article 120b (Rape and Sexual Assault of a Child): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-120b-courts-martial/) (hub) - [Sentences](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/sentences/) (hub) - [Fewer or More? Child Sexual Abuse Charges at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2017–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-120b-trend-2017-2025/) - [Fighting a Navy-Marine Corps Child Sexual Abuse Charge: How Contested Cases Ended](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-120b-acq-2017-2025/) - [Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Child Sexual Abuse Cases: How Often, and What Came Next](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-120b-plea-2017-2025/) - [How Much Confinement for an Article 120b Conviction in the Army?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-120b-sent-2021-2025/) (another service) - [How Much Confinement for an Article 120b Conviction in the Air Force?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-120b-sent-2016-2025/) (another service) - [Article 120b explained on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-120b/?ref=bodiesburied.com) - [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members) **Compare: federal court.** [Child Sexual Abuse and Enticement: Federal Cases vs. Article 120b Courts-Martial](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-child-sexual-abuse-enticement-vs-article-120b/) **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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.