UCMJ Article 120 Sexual Assault vs Article 120c Other Sexual Misconduct: Contact Offenses vs Non-Contact Violations
On this page: 7 sections
Article 120 requires a sexual act or sexual contact with another person, committed by force, threat, fraud, without consent, or with someone asleep, unaware, or incapable of consenting. Article 120c covers sexual misconduct that does not require the accused to touch anyone: viewing, recording, or distributing images of another person’s private area without consent, compelling someone into prostitution, and indecent exposure.
Both articles in their current form apply to offenses committed on or after January 1, 2019; earlier versions are reproduced in Appendixes 20 through 22 of the Manual for Courts-Martial.
Article 120: four offenses
Rape, under Article 120(a), is a sexual act committed on another person by:
(1) using unlawful force against that other person;
(2) using force causing or likely to cause death or grievous bodily harm to any person;
(3) threatening or placing that other person in fear that any person will be subjected to death, grievous bodily harm, or kidnapping;
(4) first rendering that other person unconscious; or
(5) administering to that other person by force or threat of force, or without the knowledge or consent of that person, a drug, intoxicant, or other similar substance and thereby substantially impairing the ability of that other person to appraise or control conduct;
Source: 10 U.S.C. § 920(a) (Article 120).
Sexual assault, under Article 120(b), is a sexual act committed on another person in any of these ways (10 U.S.C. § 920(b)):
- by threatening or placing the person in fear;
- by making a fraudulent representation that the act serves a professional purpose;
- by inducing a belief, through artifice, pretense, or concealment, that the accused is another person;
- without the other person’s consent;
- when the accused knows or reasonably should know the other person is asleep, unconscious, or otherwise unaware the act is occurring; or
- when the other person is incapable of consenting because of impairment by a drug, intoxicant, or similar substance, or because of a mental disease or defect or physical disability, and the condition is known or reasonably should be known by the accused.
Aggravated sexual contact and abusive sexual contact, under subsections (c) and (d), apply the same circumstances to sexual contact instead of a sexual act: contact that would be rape if it were a sexual act is aggravated sexual contact, and contact that would be sexual assault is abusive sexual contact.
The definitions that decide the article
The statute defines its own terms (10 U.S.C. § 920(g)):
- Sexual act includes penetration, however slight, of the penis into the vulva, anus, or mouth; contact between the mouth and the penis, vulva, scrotum, or anus; and penetration of the vulva, penis, or anus of another by any part of the body or an object with an intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, or degrade or to arouse or gratify sexual desire.
- Sexual contact means touching, or causing another to touch, “either directly or through the clothing, the vulva, penis, scrotum, anus, groin, breast, inner thigh, or buttocks of any person,” with that same kind of intent.
- Consent “means a freely given agreement to the conduct at issue by a competent person.” Lack of verbal or physical resistance “does not constitute consent,” nor does submission resulting from force, threat, or fear. A current or previous dating, social, or sexual relationship, or the manner of dress, does not by itself constitute consent. “A sleeping, unconscious, or incompetent person cannot consent.” All surrounding circumstances are considered.
- Incapable of consenting means incapable of appraising the nature of the conduct, or physically incapable of declining participation or communicating unwillingness.
Two further rules sit in the statute: a threat need not be one the accused intended or was able to carry out (§ 920(e)), and “Marriage is not a defense for any conduct in issue in any prosecution under this section” (§ 920(f)).
Article 120c, in brief
Article 120c(a) punishes, without legal justification or lawful authorization, knowingly and wrongfully viewing another person’s private area without consent where that person has a reasonable expectation of privacy, knowingly recording it under the same conditions, and knowingly broadcasting or distributing such a recording. Subsection (b) punishes compelling another person to engage in an act of prostitution, and subsection (c) punishes intentionally exposing one’s own genitalia, anus, buttocks, or female areola or nipple in an indecent manner (10 U.S.C. § 920c).
“Private area” means “the naked or underwear-clad genitalia, anus, buttocks, or female areola or nipple” (§ 920c(d)(2)). The list for sexual contact under Article 120 is broader and includes the groin, breast, and inner thigh, touched directly or through clothing.
Where the line falls
| Article 120 | Article 120c(a) viewing and recording | |
|---|---|---|
| Physical contact by the accused | Required: a sexual act or sexual contact | Not required |
| Role of consent | Lack of consent is one of several ways to commit sexual assault or abusive sexual contact | Lack of consent is an element of each offense |
| Body areas | Defined by "sexual act" and "sexual contact" | "Private area," naked or underwear-clad |
| Setting | Any | Circumstances giving a reasonable expectation of privacy |
For example, touching the buttocks of a sleeping person through clothing, with intent to gratify sexual desire, when the accused knows or reasonably should know the person is asleep, fits abusive sexual contact under Article 120(d). Photographing the same sleeping person’s underwear-clad buttocks in a private barracks room, without touching, raises indecent recording under Article 120c(a)(2) instead. If the photo is then sent to others, distribution under Article 120c(a)(3) is also raised. Whether a person was asleep or incapable of consenting, and what the accused knew or reasonably should have known, are elements the government must prove at trial.
Maximum punishments
| Offense | Maximum (MCM, Part IV, ¶ 60.d and ¶ 63.d) |
|---|---|
| Rape | Forfeiture of all pay and allowances and confinement for life without eligibility for parole; mandatory minimum of dismissal or dishonorable discharge |
| Sexual assault | Forfeiture of all pay and allowances and confinement for 30 years; mandatory minimum of dismissal or dishonorable discharge |
| Aggravated sexual contact | Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 20 years |
| Abusive sexual contact | Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 7 years |
| Indecent viewing | Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 1 year |
| Indecent recording | Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 5 years |
| Broadcasting or distributing an indecent recording | Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 7 years |
| Forcible pandering | Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 20 years |
| Indecent exposure | Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 1 year |
Life without eligibility for parole is the ceiling for rape; the mandatory minimum is the punitive separation. Where every finding of guilty is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, the military judge determines the sentence in a general or special court-martial, apart from capital cases (10 U.S.C. § 853(b)(1)).
Who decides whether the case goes forward
Articles 120 and 120c are covered offenses (10 U.S.C. § 801(17)). For offenses committed after December 27, 2023, a special trial counsel has exclusive authority to determine whether a reported offense is a covered offense and, once exercising authority, to refer charges to a special or general court-martial, dismiss them, or enter a plea agreement; a commander may not refer a covered offense to those courts (10 U.S.C. § 824a(c)).
Sources
- 10 U.S.C. § 920, rape and sexual assault generally (Article 120)
- 10 U.S.C. § 920c, other sexual misconduct (Article 120c)
- 10 U.S.C. § 801, definitions (Article 1)
- 10 U.S.C. § 824a, special trial counsel (Article 24a)
- 10 U.S.C. § 853, findings and sentencing (Article 53)
- Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (2024 edition), Part IV, ¶ 60 and ¶ 63, and Appendixes 20 through 22.
This is legal information about how Articles 120 and 120c are defined; it does not evaluate any report, allegation, or case. This page reflects the UCMJ as amended through Public Law 119-60 (December 18, 2025) and the Manual for Courts-Martial (2024 edition) as amended by Executive Order 14130.