Federal Assault Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025
All 83 people sentenced for assault in the Middle District of Pennsylvania in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 51 months (4.2 years), compared with 42 months across all 94 districts. A mandatory minimum applied to none of the 80 people with that information recorded.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY › Assault: Middle District of Pennsylvania
In brief: All 83 people sentenced for assault in the Middle District of Pennsylvania in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 51 months (4.2 years), compared with 42 months across all 94 districts. A mandatory minimum applied to none of the 80 people with that information recorded.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 83 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.
Every Assault Case Ended in Prison
83 of 83 people (100%) received a prison term, and none received probation only. Across all 94 districts, 7,573 people were in this offense type, and 90% were sent to prison.
The median prison term was 51 months. A quarter received 77.5 months or more, and a quarter received 31 months or less. The national median was 42 months, and the median for all offenses in this district was 46 months.
The terms are those imposed, not time served.
Guidelines and Share of Cases
"Assault" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type, grouped by the primary sentencing guideline. §2A2.2 (Aggravated Assault) was listed for 67 people. §2A2.1 (Assault with Intent to Commit Murder) was listed for 5, and §2A2.3 (Assault) for 4.
Assault cases were 2% of the 4,067 people sentenced in the district.
Pleas and Trials
75 of 83 people (90%) pleaded guilty, and 8 were convicted after a trial. Across all districts, 93% pleaded guilty.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 51 months. After a trial it was 108.5 months, based on 8 people. That is a small group.
Among the guilty pleas, 96% had a written plea agreement and 4% were straight pleas with no agreement.
The Guideline Range
Sentences within the guideline range were 42% of the cases (35 people). Below the range at the government's request were 37% (31 people), and below the range without a government request were 18% (15 people). Above the range were 2% (2 people).
For assault across all districts, 48% were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 47%.
Criminal History Was Concentrated in the Highest Category
In criminal history, 53% of the group were in the highest category, VI, and 4% were in the lowest, category I. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Supervised release followed prison for 30 people (36%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 5 people (6%), and restitution for 24 (29%).
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 7 | 46 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2017 | 11 | 57 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 17 | 71 months | 94% |
| 2019 | 3 | 84 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2020 | 7 | 60 months | 5 of 7 |
| 2021 | 11 | 36 months | 91% |
| 2022 | 8 | 41 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2023 | 8 | 28.5 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2024 | 9 | 37 months | 6 of 9 |
| 2025 | 2 | 58.5 months | 1 of 2 |
Counts by Year
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 38 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 45. Yearly counts range from 2 people in 2025 to 17 in 2018.
Yearly medians range from 28.5 months in 2023 to 84 months in 2019. Years with 2 or 3 people give medians that rest on very few sentences. The table does not show a steady trend.
Limits of the Data
Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the records, and the records do not describe any case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Middle District of Pennsylvania (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Penn. Mid") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Assault" (83). 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.
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 Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Middle 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.