Federal Assault Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025
The Eastern District of Pennsylvania sentenced 27 people for assault offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 26 (96%) received a prison term, and the median was 63 months (5.2 years), higher than the 42 months for assault in all 94 federal districts. 28% were in the highest criminal history category.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, F › Assault: Eastern District of Pennsylvania
In brief: The Eastern District of Pennsylvania sentenced 27 people for assault offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 26 (96%) received a prison term, and the median was 63 months (5.2 years), higher than the 42 months for assault in all 94 federal districts. 28% were in the highest criminal history category.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 27 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.
Criminal History in the Assault Group
28% of the 27 people were in the highest criminal history category, category VI, and 8% were in the lowest, category I. The Sentencing Guidelines use this category to help set the sentence range.
Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so this measure has no court-martial counterpart.
Prison Terms
26 of the 27 people (96%) received a prison term, and 1 (4%) received probation only. The median prison term was 63 months. A quarter received 28.5 months or less, and a quarter received 120 months or more.
In all districts, 7,573 people were sentenced for assault, 90% were sent to prison, and the median was 42 months. For all offenses in this district, the median was also 42 months.
Pleas and Trials
24 people (89%) pleaded guilty, and 3 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 54 months. After a trial it was 125 months, based on 3 people.
Among the guilty pleas, 63% had a written plea agreement and 33% were straight pleas with no agreement. In all districts, 93% pleaded guilty. With 3 people at trial, the comparison between medians is only a rough indication.
Sentences Within the Guideline Range
The guideline range is the sentence range calculated under the Sentencing Guidelines. 50% of sentences (13) were within it. 23% (6) were below it at the government's request, and 19% (5) were below it without a government request. 8% (2) were above it.
In all districts, 48% of assault sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, 34% were. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 6 of the 26 people with that information recorded (23%).
Which Assault Guidelines Applied?
"Assault" is a U.S. Sentencing Commission offense type, assigned from each case's primary guideline. 15 cases used §2A2.2 (Aggravated Assault), and 7 used §2A2.1 (Assault with Intent to Commit Murder).
2 cases used §2A2.3 (Assault), and 1 used §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact).
After Sentencing
25 people (93%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 1 (4%), and restitution for 5 (19%).
Yearly Counts
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 11 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 16. The table shows 6 people in 2023 and 1 in each of 2020 and 2022.
Yearly medians range from 12 months to 125 months. These counts are too small to show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 4 | 24 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2017 | 3 | 12 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2018 | 2 | 101 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2019 | 2 | 90 months | 1 of 2 |
| 2020 | 1 | 120 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2022 | 1 | 40 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2023 | 6 | 63 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2024 | 5 | 125 months | 3 of 5 |
| 2025 | 3 | 54 months | 3 of 3 |
What the Records Do Not Cover
Assault cases were less than 1% of the 5,462 people sentenced in the district. Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted, so acquittals and dismissals are not in the data. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Penn. East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Assault" (27). 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 Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 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.