UCMJ Article 134 Indecent Exposure vs Article 120c Indecent Viewing or Recording: Showing Yourself vs Viewing Others

A service member who intentionally exposes his or her genitals in a barracks hallway, and one who secretly records a roommate in the shower, are charged today under the same article: Article 120c. Indecent exposure has not been an Article 134 offense for conduct after September 30, 2007, and the current version of Article 120c has applied to offenses committed since January 1, 2019.

The two offenses face opposite directions. Exposure punishes displaying one’s own body in an indecent manner. Viewing and recording punish intruding on another person’s privacy.

The statutory text

(1) knowingly and wrongfully views the private area of another person, without that other person’s consent and under circumstances in which that other person has a reasonable expectation of privacy;
(2) knowingly photographs, videotapes, films, or records by any means the private area of another person, without that other person’s consent and under circumstances in which that other person has a reasonable expectation of privacy; or
(3) knowingly broadcasts or distributes any such recording that the person knew or reasonably should have known was made under the circumstances proscribed in paragraphs (1) and (2);

Source: 10 U.S.C. § 920c(a) (Article 120c), indecent viewing, visual recording, or broadcasting. Each clause applies to conduct “without legal justification or lawful authorization.”

Any person subject to this chapter who intentionally exposes, in an indecent manner, the genitalia, anus, buttocks, or female areola or nipple is guilty of indecent exposure

Source: 10 U.S.C. § 920c(c) (Article 120c).

Which version applies

The Manual for Courts-Martial places each period’s version of these offenses in its appendices (MCM, Part IV, ¶ 63, bracketed note):

The label “Article 134 indecent exposure” therefore describes law that governs only conduct on or before September 30, 2007.

The elements side by side

Sources for the table: MCM, Part IV, ¶ 63.b(1), (2), (6).

The statute defines the terms these elements rely on:

• Private area: “the naked or underwear-clad genitalia, anus, buttocks, or female areola or nipple” (§ 920c(d)(2)). Underwear-clad areas are included for viewing and recording.
• Reasonable expectation of privacy: circumstances in which a reasonable person would believe he or she could disrobe in privacy without concern that an image was being captured, or would believe that a private area would not be visible to the public (§ 920c(d)(3)).
• Indecent manner: conduct that “amounts to a form of immorality relating to sexual impurity which is grossly vulgar, obscene, and repugnant to common propriety, and tends to excite sexual desire or deprave morals with respect to sexual relations” (§ 920c(d)(6)).
• Recording: “a still or moving visual image captured or recorded by any means” (¶ 63.c(2)(a)).

Consent works differently in each offense. For viewing and recording, the absence of the other person’s consent is something the government must prove. The exposure offense has no consent element; what it requires is an intentional exposure in an indecent manner as the statute defines it.

Broadcasting and distribution

Clause (3) reaches a person who did not make the recording. Broadcasting means electronically transmitting an image “with the intent that it be viewed by a person or persons,” and distributing means delivering to another’s actual or constructive possession, including by electronic means (§ 920c(d)(4)-(5)). The government must prove the recording was made without consent and under circumstances giving a reasonable expectation of privacy, and that the accused knew or reasonably should have known both facts (¶ 63.b(3)-(4)).

For example, a service member who receives a hidden-camera video from a friend and forwards it to a group chat can face the distribution offense without having recorded anything, if the knowledge element is proved. Were the same service member instead to expose his or her genitals on a video call to a person who did not ask for it, the question would be whether the exposure was intentional and in an indecent manner under § 920c(c).

Maximum punishments

Viewing and exposure share the same ceiling. The punishment rises with what happens to the image: recording carries five times the viewing maximum, and sharing a recording carries seven years. In a general or special court-martial where every finding of guilty is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, the military judge, not the members, determines the sentence, apart from capital cases (10 U.S.C. § 853(b)(1)).

Who decides whether the case goes forward

Article 120c offenses 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)). Whether a location carried a reasonable expectation of privacy, and whether conduct was indecent under the statutory definition, are proved or disproved on the facts of each case.

Sources

• 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, ¶ 63, and Appendixes 20 through 22.

Article 120c is summarized as written and as the Manual explains it; this is not advice on any report, investigation, or charge. 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.