Sex Assault and Article 120 of the UCMJ - Court Martial Attorneys
- The new UCMJ Article 120 replaces the following Article 134 offenses. The parenthetical cites indicate the replaced MCM provisions:
- Indecent assault (Paragraph 63, Part IV, MCM).
- Indecent acts or liberties with a child (Paragraph 87, Part IV, MCM).
- Indecent exposure (Paragraph 88, Part IV, MCM).
- Indecent acts with another (Paragraph 90, Part IV, MCM).
- The UCMJ change also amends some Article 134 offenses.
-- With the exception of the new Article 120 offenses as lesser included offenses, Article 125 (sodomy) remains unchanged. (Sodomy is “unnatural carnal copulation” and includes fellatio, cunnilingus, bestiality, and anal sodomy.)
-- Indecent language communicated to another - other than when communicated in the presence of a child –remains punishable under Article 134 (Paragraph 89, Part IV, MCM). If the language was communicated in the presence of a child, then it is an Article 120 offense.
-- Pandering (having someone commit an act of prostitution) is still an offense under Article 134 (Paragraph 97, Part IV, MCM) but the elements have been somewhat modified. There is a new Article 120 offense when the pandering is “compelled.”
