Federal Assault Sentences in the Southern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025
In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 30 people were sentenced for assault in the Southern District of Ohio, and 29 (97%) received a prison term. The median was 51 months (4.2 years), compared with 42 months for assault in all 94 federal districts.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Ohio, FY2016–2 › Assault: Southern District of Ohio
In brief: In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 30 people were sentenced for assault in the Southern District of Ohio, and 29 (97%) received a prison term. The median was 51 months (4.2 years), compared with 42 months for assault in all 94 federal districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 30 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 Higher Than the National Median
The median prison term was 51 months. A quarter of those sent to prison received 84 months or more, and a quarter received 30 months or less. No one received probation only.
In all districts, 90% of 7,573 people were sent to prison for assault, and the median was 42 months. For all offenses in the Southern District of Ohio, the median was 36 months.
Attempted Murder and Aggravated Assault Guidelines
"Assault" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type, based on the primary guideline in each case. In this district, 13 cases used §2A2.1 (Assault with Intent to Commit Murder) and 13 used §2A2.2 (Aggravated Assault). One case used §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact).
Assault cases were less than 1% of the 5,580 people sentenced in the district.
Guilty Pleas and Trials
In this district, 28 of the 30 people (93%) pleaded guilty and 2 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 56 months after a guilty plea and 28.5 months after a trial. Here the trial median was lower than the plea median, but it is based on only 2 people.
Among guilty pleas, 93% had a written plea agreement and 4% were straight pleas with no agreement. In all districts, 93% pleaded guilty for assault.
Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums
The sentence was below the guideline range at the government's request for 12 people (41%) and below it without a request for 10 (34%). It was within the range for 7 (24%). None was above the range.
In all districts, 48% of assault sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, 27% were. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 3 of the 29 people with that information recorded (10%).
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
Supervised release was ordered for 27 people (90%), with a median term of 36 months. For 2 people (7%), it was for life. A fine was ordered for 1 (3%), and restitution for 3 (10%).
In criminal history, 24% were in the lowest category and 14% in the highest (VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Year-by-Year Counts and Limits
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 11 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 19. No year had more than 5 people. Yearly medians range from 14 months to 120 months. With groups this small, the figures do not show a trend.
Wright-Patterson AFB is in this district, but courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court. The prison terms are those imposed, not time served. The records cannot show what happened in any case, and they leave out people who were acquitted or whose cases were dismissed.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 | 96 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2017 | 5 | 120 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2018 | 1 | 14 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2019 | 4 | 51 months | 3 of 4 |
| 2020 | 5 | 72 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2021 | 1 | 30 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2022 | 4 | 41.5 months | 3 of 4 |
| 2023 | 2 | 17 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2024 | 4 | 80 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2025 | 3 | 30 months | 3 of 3 |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Ohio (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Ohio South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Assault" (30). 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 Southern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Ohio, 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.