Article 120 Cases at San Diego, California, 2019–2023: 28 Courts-Martial

Trends › By Installation › San Diego, California › Article 120, 2019–2023

Based on 28 cases · 2019–2023 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Most Contested Cases Ended in Full Acquittal

Of 18 contested sexual assault cases at San Diego that reached a verdict, 11 ended in a full acquittal, meaning not guilty of every charge. That rate is 61%. In the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps, the rate was 57%.

1 more contested case (6%) ended in a partial acquittal: not guilty of at least one charge or specification, but guilty of another. A contested case is one where the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. With 18 cases, each verdict changes the rate by several points.

Pleas Were About the Same as the Service

Of the 28 accused, 18 contested and 10 pleaded guilty. The contested share of 64% was about the same as the 65% in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps.

The records do not include plea terms. They cannot show whether a guilty plea came with an agreed sentence limit or which charges, if any, were withdrawn in exchange.

Punitive Discharges Were Less Common Than Elsewhere

Of 16 convicted enlisted members, 11 received a punitive discharge. Of those, 10 were dishonorable discharges and 1 was a bad-conduct discharge. The share of 69% was lower than the 83% in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps.

A dishonorable discharge is the most severe discharge for an enlisted member. Only a general court-martial can impose it. A sentence without a punitive discharge can still be followed by an administrative separation, which these records do not show.

Confinement Was the Same as the Service

The 28 cases produced 17 convictions on at least one charge. Of those sentences, 14 included confinement (82%). The median confinement was 1.5 years, the same as the 1.5 years median in Navy and Marine Corps Article 120 cases overall. A quarter of confinement sentences were 3 years or longer.

These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in the case. There were only 17 convictions, so the median is based on a small number of sentences.

Assault Was Charged in Most Cases

Article 120 was the only charge in 6 of the 28 cases. Article 128 (assault) was charged in 20. Article 80 (attempt) was charged in 3 cases. Article 92 (orders violation), Article 120b (child sexual abuse), and Article 107 (false official statement) were charged in 2 each.

Findings are made charge by charge. An acquittal on the sexual assault charge does not always end the case. A conviction on another charge in the same case still leads to a sentence.

Rank and Court Level

The accused were 16 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) and 11 NCOs (E-5 to E-9). There were 0 officers or warrant officers. That mix was similar to the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole, where 60% were junior enlisted.

General courts-martial tried 23 of the 28 cases (82%), compared with 87% in Navy and Marine Corps Article 120 cases overall. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

Cases by Year

The cases run from January 2019 to December 2023. There were 4 in 2019, 5 in 2020, 10 in 2021, 0 in 2022, and 9 in 2023. Over the whole period, sexual assault cases were 16% of the 173 courts-martial at San Diego, California.

Yearly counts this small can change a great deal from one year to the next. The records give trial dates only. They cannot show when the conduct took place.

Which Version of Article 120 Applied

Article 120 was rewritten in 2012 and amended again for offenses on or after January 1, 2019. Each case is charged under the version in force when the offense happened. The records show only trial dates, so they cannot show which version applied in a given case.

What the Records Cannot Show

These are courtroom results. The evidence, the plea terms, and allegations handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation are not included. Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea and forum, so these records do not show who decided guilt.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 120 on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.

Compare: federal court. Sexual Abuse of an Adult: Federal Cases vs. Article 120 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.