Federal Assault Sentences in the Eastern District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025
In the Eastern District of North Carolina, 116 people were sentenced for assault offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 98 (84%) received a prison term. The median was 116.5 months (9.7 years), compared with 42 months across all 94 federal districts. Most of these cases were under the guideline
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In brief: In the Eastern District of North Carolina, 116 people were sentenced for assault offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 98 (84%) received a prison term. The median was 116.5 months (9.7 years), compared with 42 months across all 94 federal districts. Most of these cases were under the guideline for assault with intent to commit murder.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 116 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. It is part of the Federal Prosecution Analysis series, which builds on Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System. How the numbers were built: How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built.
A Higher Median Than the National Group
Among the 98 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 116.5 months. A quarter received 147.5 months or more, and a quarter received 78 months or less. Life sentences were given to 2 people.
Across all 94 districts, assault cases cover 7,573 people, 90% were sent to prison, and the median was 42 months. For all offenses in this district, the median was 60 months. Terms are those imposed, not time served.
Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, was the sentence for 17 people (15%).
Which Guidelines Applied
"Assault" is the Commission's offense type. The largest group in this district was §2A2.1 (Assault with Intent to Commit Murder), with 72 people. Then came §2A2.2 (Aggravated Assault) with 24.
One person each was sentenced under §2X1.1 (Attempt, Solicitation, or Conspiracy (Not Covered by a Specific Offense Guideline)) and §2A2.3 (Assault). Assault cases were 1% of the 7,801 people sentenced in the district.
Trials and Guilty Pleas
Guilty pleas were 90% of the cases (104), compared with 93% across all 94 districts. Another 12 people were convicted after a trial.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 108 months, and after a trial it was 219 months, based on 12 people. The records do not show what separates the plea group from the trial group. Plea agreements were written in 44% of guilty pleas, and 54% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Against the Guideline Range
The records list the range position for 105 people. Sentences were within the guideline range for 74% (78), compared with 48% across all 94 districts and 56% for all offenses in this district.
Below the range without a government request was 14% (15), above it was 5% (5), and below it at the government's request was 7% (7).
Mandatory Minimums and Supervision
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 12 of the 99 people with that information recorded (12%).
Supervised release followed prison for 96 people (83%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 17 people (15%) and restitution for 9 (8%).
Yearly Counts and Criminal History
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 24 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 92. Fiscal year 2023 had the most, with 22. Fiscal years 2016 and 2017 had 3 people each, so those medians rest on very few people.
In the Commission's data, 20% were in the lowest criminal history category and 20% in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. Each fiscal year begins October 1.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 3 | n/a | 3 of 3 |
| 2017 | 3 | 24 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2018 | 8 | 87.5 months | 7 of 8 |
| 2019 | 10 | 120 months | 90% |
| 2020 | 12 | 120 months | 75% |
| 2021 | 14 | 118 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 9 | 120 months | 7 of 9 |
| 2023 | 22 | 111.5 months | 86% |
| 2024 | 19 | 115 months | 95% |
| 2025 | 16 | 115 months | 94% |
Installations and Limits
Camp Lejeune, Fort Bragg, Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, and Seymour Johnson AFB are in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, and these federal figures stand alone.
Only convicted and sentenced people are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of North Carolina (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "N Carolina East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Assault" (116). Offense types are the Commission's OFFGUIDE categories.
Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records.
What to Keep in Mind
No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct. Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served.
Federal supervised release. Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial.
Who decides the sentence, and under what rules. Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart.
Time periods. Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually.
How life sentences and "time served" are counted. In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less.
Mandatory minimum sentences. Many federal statutes on drugs, images of child exploitation, child sex abuse, and firearms carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The UCMJ has mandatory minimums only for a few offenses (a dishonorable discharge or dismissal for rape and sexual assault, and life for premeditated murder). Federal sentences for these offenses are partly set by Congress, not by the judge.
Related Analysis
- Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Other Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles (source)
- Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants) (source)
About the author. Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts Where All The Bodies Are Buried and runs the Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.