Federal Assault Sentences in the Western District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025
In the Western District of Pennsylvania, 15 people were sentenced for assault in fiscal years 2017 to 2025, and 14 (93%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 53 months (4.4 years). All 15 pleaded guilty.
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In brief: In the Western District of Pennsylvania, 15 people were sentenced for assault in fiscal years 2017 to 2025, and 14 (93%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 53 months (4.4 years). All 15 pleaded guilty.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 15 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 Small Group With Long Prison Terms
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 15 people in this district whose offense type was "Assault." Of these, 14 (93%) received a prison term, and 1 (7%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.
The median prison term among those sent to prison was 53 months (4.4 years). A quarter received 114 months or more, and a quarter received 27 months or less.
Across all 94 federal districts, 90% of people sentenced for assault were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 42 months. The median here was higher. For all offenses in this district, the median was 48 months.
Sentences Above the Guideline Range
Of the 15 people, 5 (33%) were sentenced above the guideline range. Another 6 (40%) were sentenced within it, and 4 (27%) were sentenced below it at the government's request. No one was sentenced below the range without a government request.
Across all districts, 48% of assault sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, 38% were within the range.
The records show where each sentence fell against the range. They do not show why.
Guilty Pleas and Mandatory Minimums
All 15 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and 0 were convicted after a trial. Across all districts, 93% pleaded guilty for assault. Written plea agreements covered 93% of the guilty pleas, and 7% were straight pleas.
Because no one was convicted after a trial, the records have no trial prison term to compare with the plea figure. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 2 of the 15 people (13%).
Primary Guidelines
§2A2.2 (Aggravated Assault) was the primary guideline for 10 people. §2A2.1 (Assault with Intent to Commit Murder) was the primary guideline for 3.
Assault cases were less than 1% of the 4,460 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 14 people (93%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 1 person (7%), and restitution for 3 (20%).
In criminal history, 53% were in the lowest category and 13% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts by Year and Limits of the Records
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 2 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 13. The table lists the fiscal years with cases. Most years have 1 or 2 people, and 2025 has 6. Counts this small cannot show a trend, and the yearly medians range from 32.5 months to 120 months.
Fiscal years run from October through September. Only people who were convicted and sentenced are in the data. Acquittals and dismissals are not, and the prison terms are those imposed, not time served.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 1 | 36 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2019 | 1 | 96 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2020 | 1 | 46 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 1 | 78 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2022 | 2 | 32.5 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2023 | 2 | 111 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2024 | 1 | 120 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 60 months | 6 of 6 |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Pennsylvania (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Penn. West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Assault" (15). 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 Western District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Western 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.