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# What Sentence Follows a Navy-Marine Corps Assault Conviction?
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-128-sent-2017-2025/
- Published: 2026-10-28T08:05:40.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-03T01:47:06.000Z
- Description: Assault convictions under Article 128 in the Navy and Marine Corps, 877 of them from 2017–2025, had a median confinement of 6 months, the same as for all Navy and Marine Corps convictions. 86% of these sentences included confinement.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Article 128, Navy-Marine Corps

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Offense](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-offense/) › [Article 128](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-128-courts-martial/) › What Sentence Follows a Navy-Marine Corp

**Short answer:** Assault convictions under Article 128 in the Navy and Marine Corps, 877 of them from 2017–2025, had a median confinement of 6 months, the same as for all Navy and Marine Corps convictions. 86% of these sentences included confinement. 27% of convictions included more than one year, compared with 25% for all Navy and Marine Corps convictions. 61% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 62%.

Based on 877 cases · 2017–2025 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

## Sentences About the Same as the Service

With 877 convictions, assault is a large group in the Navy and Marine Corps records. Its sentences were about the same as for all Navy and Marine Corps convictions. The median confinement was 6 months, the same as for all convictions. A quarter of terms were 1.6 years or longer, and 2 were life sentences.

Terms under 6 months were 34% of convictions here and 35% for all Navy and Marine Corps convictions. Terms between one and five years were 18% in both groups. There were small differences: 14% of convictions had no confinement, compared with 18%, and 9% included 5 years or more, compared with 7%.

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

| Adjudged confinement            | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Navy and Marine Corps convictions in those years |
| ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- |
| No confinement                  | 125         | 14%        | 18%                                                         |
| Under 6 months                  | 302         | 34%        | 35%                                                         |
| 6 months to 1 year              | 216         | 25%        | 22%                                                         |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 158         | 18%        | 18%                                                         |
| 5 years or more                 | 76          | 9%         | 7%                                                          |

## Other Charges in These Cases

Article 128 was the only charge in 322 cases. The rest charged other articles too, most often Article 120 (sexual assault) in 213 cases, Article 92 (orders violation) in 140, Article 134 (general article) in 99, Article 80 (attempt) in 77, and Article 120b (child sexual abuse) in 73.

When assault is charged with sexual assault or domestic violence, the assault charge can describe part of the same incident. A sentence covers every finding, so the figures here include the sentence for those other charges.

## Sentences by Court Level

410 of these cases (47%) were general courts-martial, compared with 41% for all Navy and Marine Corps convictions. The other 467 were special courts-martial. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

The median confinement was 1.6 years at general courts-martial and 4 months at special courts-martial. Contested shares also differed: 37% at the general level and 19% at the special level.

## Guilty Pleas in Most Recorded Cases

Of the 877 records, 568 list a plea: 413 guilty pleas and 155 not-guilty or mixed pleas. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. That makes 27% contested, slightly higher than the 24% for all Navy and Marine Corps convictions.

Every case here ended in a conviction, so no case here ended in a full acquittal. 36 of the 155 contested cases (23%) ended in a partial acquittal: not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another.

## Discharge Rates About the Same as the Service

Among 830 convicted enlisted members, 505 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (61%), about the same as the 62% for all Navy and Marine Corps convictions. Of those, 178 were dishonorable.

There were 26 convicted officers and warrant officers, and 10 were dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

## Rank Mix

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 66% of the accused, NCOs 30%, and officers 3%. That is about the same as for all Navy and Marine Corps convictions, where junior enlisted were 65%.

## Fewer Cases Each Year

The count went down over the period. There were 155 cases in 2017 and 138 in 2018, then 116 in 2019 and 117 in 2020\. There were 48 in 2025\. The records cannot show the reason for the decline.

Camp Pendleton, California had the most of these cases (142), followed by Camp Lejeune, North Carolina (127), Norfolk, Virginia (99), Okinawa, Japan (64), and San Diego, California (62). Together they account for 56%. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.

## Law Changes Over These Years

The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019\. It introduced fixed panel sizes, judge-alone special courts-martial capped at six months with no punitive discharge, and written plea agreements. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses. Article 128 assault is not itself one, but special trial counsel who take a covered offense can also take related charges, such as an assault tied to a domestic violence allegation. The records do not give offense dates, so trials from 2024 on include cases under both old and new rules.

## What the Records Do Not Show

Assaults handled through nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action are not in these records. The evidence and the plea terms are also not included. Records before December 2020 often omit the plea, so plea counts use only records that list it.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see [Article 128 on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-128/?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 128 (assault) (877 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 128 (Assault): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-128-courts-martial/) (hub)
- [Sentences](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/sentences/) (hub)
- [Navy-Marine Corps Article 128 Cases by the Numbers, 2017–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-128-trend-2017-2025/)
- [Not Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Article 128 Cases: What Happened at Trial](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-128-acq-2017-2025/)
- [Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Assault Cases: How Often, and What Came Next](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-128-plea-2017-2025/)
- [Article 128 Sentences in the Army: Confinement and Discharges, 2021–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-128-sent-2021-2025/) (another service)
- [What Sentence Follows an Air Force Assault Conviction?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-128-sent-2016-2025/) (another service)
- [Article 128 explained on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-128/?ref=bodiesburied.com)
- [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members)

**Compare: federal court.** [Aggravated Assault: Federal Sentences vs. Article 128 Courts-Martial, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-aggravated-assault-vs-article-128/)

**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.