ARTICLE 125 - SODOMY

Article 125 of the Manual of Court Martial concerns sodomy. The text of the statute says that any service member who engages in an unnatural form of carnal copulation with another individual belonging to the same sex or the opposite sex, or an animal will be held guilty of sodomy.

Penetration, to whatever extent, is enough to build a case for sodomy. Any service member who is found to have sodomized another person or an animal will be punished as directed by a court martial.

ELEMENTS OF THIS OFFENSE

1. The defendant has engaged in carnal copulation of an unnatural order with a certain individual or an animal.

Here are a few more points that must be added if applicable.

2. The act was done on a child who was under the age of 12.
3. The act was done on a child who had attained the age of 12 years but not the age of 16 years.
4. The act was committed by force and did not have the other person's consent.

EXPLANATION FOR ELEMENTS

Carnal copulation is deemed unnatural if a person takes into his mouth or anus another individual's sexual organ or the sexual organ of an animal, or places his sexual organ into another individual's mouth or anus, or engages in carnal copulation with any opening in the other person's body, other than the sexual parts, or commits carnal copulation with an animal.

MAXIMUM PUNISHMENT IF A SERVICE MEMBER IS FOUND GUILTY OF THE OFFENSE UNDER ARTICLE 125

• If force was used and there was no consent.

Maximum punishment: A dishonorable discharge from the military, forfeiture of allowances and pay, and life imprisonment without a chance for parole.

• If the act of sodomy was committed on a child who has attained the age of 12 years, but not the age of 16 years.

Maximum punishment: The accused can be punished with a dishonorable discharge, forfeit of all allowances and pay and 20 years of confinement.

• If the act of sodomy was committed on a child who had not attained the age of 12 years when the act was committed.

Maximum punishment: Dishonorable discharge, forfeit of allowances and pay and 5 years of confinement.

• Other cases (For example, committing sodomy on an animal)

Dishonorable discharge, forfeit of allowances and pay and 5 years of confinement.

AN EXAMPLE TO EXPLAIN THE CHARGE UNDER ARTICLE 125

Sometime back, a soldier from Fort Stewart was charged with raping another soldier who was also junior to the accused in rank. The victim had approached the accused outside a shop at Fort Steward after confusing the accused with another person. But when he realized that he did not know the accused, he walked away.

At this point, the accused caught up with the victim and invited him to his house, which was located off base. The victim being new to the base and eager to make friends agreed to accompany the accused to his house.

The accused then stopped at a video store and rented some movies including a pornographic movie. After the two watched the pornographic movie, the accused forced the victim into having sex. The victim did not report the attack for the next few weeks because he was scared. In the meanwhile, he even attempted suicide.

The victim finally mustered up the courage to complain and a few days later, the accused was taken into custody. In the subsequent court martial, the accused was handed a 15 year jail term, a reduction in rank, forfeiture of all allowances and pay and a dishonorable discharge from the armed forces.