Article 120b child sexual assault UCMJ civilian counsel

Article 120b addresses offences against children under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and it is structured separately from Article 120. The elements turn on the age of the child and on the category of conduct rather than on force, which changes the defense entirely. A service member facing such an allegation is entitled to detailed military defense counsel provided by the service and may retain civilian counsel in addition. Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C. has practiced since 1997 and Mr. Sris is admitted in Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, New Jersey and New York. Reach our location at (888) 437-7747.

Table of Contents

What the Government Must Establish

Article 120b separates offences by the age of the child and by the category of conduct alleged, with distinct provisions addressing sexual acts, sexual contact and other defined conduct with a child. The age element does substantial work: where the provision turns on age, the absence of force is not a defense and consent is not available.

Because the structure is definitional, the first question in any Article 120b matter is which specification has been preferred and what precisely it requires. Specifications are frequently drafted broadly and can be examined for whether they state an offence at all, and for whether the evidence supports the particular subsection charged rather than a different one.

How These Matters Are Investigated

Investigation is conducted by the relevant service investigative organization rather than by civilian police, and frequently in coordination with civilian agencies where the alleged conduct occurred off installation. Forensic interviews of children are conducted in the same way as in civilian practice, and the interview methodology is examinable on the same grounds.

Device seizure and forensic extraction are common. Where conduct is alleged to have occurred on installation, additional records exist that civilian cases do not generate — gate access logs, quarters assignments, duty rosters and travel orders — and those records establish presence and timing with unusual precision. They are held by the command and are subject to retention schedules, so preservation early matters.

Command Action Runs Alongside

The command acts independently and immediately: no-contact orders, removal from duties involving children, barring from installation facilities, suspension of clearance, and flagging that halts promotion, transfer and separation. Family advocacy processes may run in parallel with their own determinations, and those determinations have consequences for family housing and access to dependants that are separate from the criminal matter.

Referral, Trial and What Follows

The matter proceeds through an Article 32 preliminary hearing before any referral to court-martial. Conviction carries civilian registration obligations in the state of residence after service, operating under state law rather than military law, and administrative separation exposure survives an acquittal because it applies a lower standard on the same facts.

This page describes process and elements. It makes no comparison with detailed military defense counsel, who represent service members in these matters as a matter of right, and it promises no outcome.

Collateral Consequences: Employment, Professional License, Security Clearance, Immigration

The proceedings that run alongside a criminal charge apply their own standards and reach their own conclusions. A professional licensing board can act on conduct that produced no conviction, applying a civil standard of proof rather than the criminal one. A security clearance adjudication examines conduct, candour and judgment, and a clearance can be suspended on an allegation alone. An employer may act under its own policies on its own timetable. For a person who is not a United States citizen, an offence in this category can carry immigration consequences that are severe and in some categories effectively automatic; immigration advice should be obtained alongside the criminal defense rather than after it. The firm does not advise on immigration matters and refers that question.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is Article 120b different from Article 120?

Article 120b addresses offences against children and is structured around the age of the child and the category of conduct rather than around force. Where the provision turns on age, absence of force is not a defense and consent is not available. That makes the defense a definitional and evidentiary exercise rather than a consent one.

What does the specification matter so much?

Because it defines what the government must prove. Specifications are frequently drafted broadly, and they can be examined for whether they state an offence at all and for whether the evidence supports the particular subsection preferred rather than a different one. That analysis comes before anything else.

What records exist in a military case that would not exist otherwise?

Where conduct is alleged on installation: gate access logs, quarters assignments, duty rosters, travel orders and unit records. These establish presence and timing with unusual precision. They are held by the command under retention schedules, so preservation requests early are considerably more effective than later ones.

What is family advocacy and does it matter?

A parallel process with its own determination, separate from the criminal matter. Its findings carry consequences for family housing and for access to dependants, and they can be reached on a different standard and a faster timetable than any court-martial.

Will a conviction mean registration as a civilian?

A conviction for a qualifying offence carries civilian registration obligations in the state of residence after service, operating under state law rather than military law. Service members frequently learn of this at separation rather than at trial, which is why it belongs in the analysis at the outset.

If I am acquitted, can I still be separated?

Yes. Administrative separation proceedings apply a lower standard on the same facts and can result in separation with a characterization of service affecting benefits and employment for years. The administrative exposure survives a favorable criminal outcome and is addressed separately.

About Mr. Sris

Mr. Sris is the owner and founder of Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C., which has practiced since 1997. He is a former prosecutor and is admitted in Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, New Jersey and New York. Of Counsel attorneys contract directly with the firm and handle matters alongside him.

Speak With Mr. Sris

Article 120b turns on age rather than force, and installation records establish presence and timing with unusual precision if they are preserved. Request a consultation. Reach our location at (888) 437-7747. Consultations are by appointment.

Last reviewed: August 24, 2026.

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