Federal Assault Sentences in the Northern District of Indiana, FY2016–2025
All 23 people sentenced for assault in the Northern District of Indiana in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term, and the median was 168 months (14 years). The median for assault cases in all 94 federal districts was 42 months. 21 of the 23 were sentenced under the guideline for assault w
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Northern District of Indiana, FY201 › Assault: Northern District of Indiana
In brief: All 23 people sentenced for assault in the Northern District of Indiana in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term, and the median was 168 months (14 years). The median for assault cases in all 94 federal districts was 42 months. 21 of the 23 were sentenced under the guideline for assault with intent to commit murder.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 23 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.
Assault Terms Here Were Much Longer Than the National Median
The Commission's "Assault" offense type had 23 people in the Northern District of Indiana, which was less than 1% of the 3,085 people sentenced there. All 23 (100%) were sentenced to prison, and none received probation only.
The median prison term was 168 months. A quarter received 306 months or more, and a quarter received 114 months or less. In all 94 districts, 90% of assault cases ended in a prison term, and the median was 42 months. For all offenses in this district, the median was 51 months.
Which Guidelines Applied
The primary guideline for 21 of the 23 people was §2A2.1 (Assault with Intent to Commit Murder). The other 2 were sentenced under §2A2.2 (Aggravated Assault).
The records do not show the facts of individual cases, so the sheet cannot say what led to these guideline choices.
Mandatory Minimums and the Guideline Range
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 9 of the 23 people (39%).
Sentences within the guideline range were 22% (5 people). Below the range at the government's request were 35% (8 people), and below the range without a request were 35% (8 people). Above the range were 9% (2 people).
For all 94 districts, 48% of assault sentences were within the range, and for all offenses in this district the figure was 47%. Assault sentences here were within the range less often than either.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 | 87 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2018 | 3 | 108 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2019 | 3 | 120 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2020 | 2 | 184.5 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2021 | 5 | 324 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2022 | 4 | 204 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2023 | 1 | 130 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2024 | 2 | 360 months | 1 of 2 |
| 2025 | 2 | 178.5 months | 2 of 2 |
Pleas and the One Trial
Of the 23 people, 22 (96%) pleaded guilty and 1 was convicted after a trial. Nationally, 93% pleaded guilty. Among the guilty pleas, 95% had a written plea agreement and 5% were straight pleas with no agreement.
The median prison term was 160.5 months after a guilty plea and 360 months after the trial. The trial figure is based on 1 person, so it shows nothing general.
Supervision and Criminal History
All 23 people (100%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, and the median term was 24 months. No fine was ordered, and restitution was ordered for 1 person (4%).
In criminal history, 22% were in the lowest category, category I, and 9% were in the highest, category VI.
Counts by Year and Limits
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 7 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 16 people. Yearly counts run from 1 person to 5 people, and yearly medians run from 87 months to 360 months. With counts this small, no trend can be read from the table.
The data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not counted, and prison terms are those imposed, not time served.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Indiana (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Indiana North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Assault" (23). 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 Northern District of Indiana, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Indiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Indiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Indiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the Northern District of Indiana, 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.