Child Pornography: Courts-Martial at San Diego vs. Federal Court in the Southern District of California
Courts-martial held in San Diego recorded 15 child pornography (images of child exploitation) convictions with trial dates from 2017 to 2025, and the median adjudged confinement was 24 months. The federal court for the Southern District of California sentenced 230 people for the same type of offense
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In brief: Courts-martial held in San Diego recorded 15 child pornography (images of child exploitation) convictions with trial dates from 2017 to 2025, and the median adjudged confinement was 24 months. The federal court for the Southern District of California sentenced 230 people for the same type of offense in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, with a median prison term of 60 months. The district total is not a count of military cases; it covers everyone sentenced in the district, and most were not service members.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 230 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, compared with court-martial results from this site's Military Trial Results data (updated November 2, 2026). 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.
Who Is in Each Count?
San Diego is in the Southern District of California. The 230 federal sentences cover the entire district. They are not cases from the Navy or Marine Corps commands in San Diego.
The court-martial records list the trial location as "San Diego" or "San Diego, California". The 15 convictions include 13 Navy cases and 2 Marine Corps cases. Courts-martial are military trials, and nothing in the data shows that these cases would otherwise have gone to the district court.
Guilty Pleas and Contested Convictions in San Diego
Guilty pleas accounted for 11 of the 14 convictions with a plea recorded (79%). The median confinement after those pleas was 36 months.
In the 3 contested cases that ended in conviction, the median confinement was 23 months. That is lower than the guilty-plea median, but 3 sentences are too few to show anything general about contested trials.
The trial years are also uneven. Only 1 case with confinement falls in 2016 to 2019, with 36 months. The 14 cases from 2020 to 2025 had a median of 23.5 months.
Confinement and Discharge
Each of the 15 convictions with a sentence recorded included confinement. The median was 24 months, and a quarter received 36 months or more. That median was about the same as the 22.5-month median for all 491 court-martial convictions for this offense in the data.
Of the 15 enlisted members convicted, 14 (93%) received a punitive discharge. There were 8 dishonorable discharges and 6 bad-conduct discharges. All 15 convictions were at a general court-martial.
| Courts-martial at San Diego | Federal court, Southern District of California | |
|---|---|---|
| Convictions or people sentenced | 15 | 230 |
| Sentenced to confinement or prison | 100% | 99% |
| Median confinement or prison | 24 months | 60 months |
| A quarter received this or more | 36 months | 79 months |
| Pleaded guilty | 11 of 14 with a plea recorded (79%) | 96% |
| Mandatory minimum applied | See the caveats | 91 of 230 with the information (40%) |
District Prison Terms and Plea Practice
Prison was imposed on 227 of the 230 people (99%). The median term of 60 months was lower than the 90-month median for all 13,646 people sentenced across federal districts. A quarter received 79 months or more.
Federal defendants pleaded guilty in 96% of cases (221 of 230). A written plea agreement came with 98% of those pleas, and 2% were straight pleas. Of the 9 people convicted after a trial, 8 were sent to prison, and their median term was 105 months.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 91 people, or 40%.
Supervision, Restitution, and the Guideline Range
Supervised release followed prison for 226 people (98%). The median supervised release term was 120 months. Only 3 people (1%) received supervised release for life.
Restitution was ordered for 99 people (43%), and a fine for 7 (3%).
Below-range sentences were common in the district. Sentences below the range without a government request made up 47% (109), and those below the range at the government's request made up 33% (77). Within-range sentences were 18% (41), and above-range sentences were 1% (3).
Limits on Reading These Numbers
A court-martial sentence is recorded as adjudged, before any clemency or appeal, while a federal prison term is the term imposed rather than the time served. Military counts run by trial date in calendar years. The federal fiscal year starts October 1.
Federal data placed 83% of the district's defendants in criminal history category I, but court-martial records carry no such field. The records also cannot show why any sentence was set where it was.
How We Counted
Courts-martial with trial dates in 2016 to 2025 whose recorded trial location is San Diego, California, ending in a conviction for child pornography (images of child exploitation): possession, receipt, or distribution (15). Federal: people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 in the Southern District of California (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "California South") under primary sentencing guideline §2G2.2 (possessing, receiving, or distributing child pornography; 18 U.S.C. 2252 and 2252A) (230). The installation is matched to the federal district for the county where it sits.
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
Who is in each set of numbers. The federal sentencing numbers come from the U.S. Sentencing Commission. They count only people who were convicted and sentenced in federal district court. People whose cases were dismissed or who were acquitted are not in them. The military numbers come from court-martial results, which include acquittals. To compare acquittal or dismissal rates, the federal side uses a different source: the Federal Judicial Center's case data, which counts every defendant whose case ended.
Different cases reach each system. Federal prosecutors bring a narrow set of cases. In fiscal year 2024, immigration and drug trafficking cases were 59% of everyone sentenced in federal court (36,664 of 61,678). Many crimes that the military prosecutes, such as most assaults, most sexual assaults between adults, and drug use, are usually state crimes for civilians and reach federal court only in special situations, such as on federal land or in Indian Country. A federal case and a court-martial for the same crime can involve different kinds of facts.
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.
Military confinement credit and parole. For military sentences adjudged after 2004, good conduct time is 5 days for each month of confinement, about 16%. Military prisoners can also earn up to 8 more days a month for work and programs and up to 2 days a month for special acts, with a limit of 15 days a month in total. Military prisoners can be considered for parole by their service's clemency and parole board. The military numbers in this post are the confinement adjudged at trial, not the time served.
Military sentences include punishments federal sentences do not. A court-martial sentence can include a punitive discharge (bad-conduct discharge, dishonorable discharge, or dismissal for officers), reduction in rank, and forfeiture of pay. These have no federal counterpart. A comparison of months of confinement leaves them out. A short confinement term combined with a dishonorable discharge is a heavier sentence than the months alone show.
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.
Offense categories do not line up exactly. Each comparison uses a federal offense group chosen to match the military article as closely as possible (see the crosswalk). Some matches are close; others are partial. The post says which federal guideline or statute was used and why it is not an exact match.
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)
- Child Pornography Sentences: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial, 2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Sentences in the Southern District of California, FY2016–2025 (the federal district)
- Child Sexual Abuse and Enticement: Courts-Martial at San Diego vs. Federal Court in the Southern District of California (same installation)
- Drug Possession: Courts-Martial at San Diego vs. Federal Court in the Southern District of California (same installation)
- Drug Use: Courts-Martial at San Diego vs. Federal Court in the Southern District of California (same installation)
- Drug Distribution: Courts-Martial at San Diego vs. Federal Court in the Southern District of California (same installation)
- Theft and Fraud: Courts-Martial at San Diego vs. Federal Court in the Southern District of California (same installation)
- Obstruction of Justice: Courts-Martial at San Diego vs. Federal Court in the Southern District of California (same installation)
- Child Pornography: Courts-Martial at Bremerton vs. Federal Court in the Western District of Washington (other installations)
- Child Pornography: Courts-Martial at Camp Lejeune vs. Federal Court in the Eastern District of North Carolina (other installations)
- Child Pornography: Courts-Martial at Camp Pendleton vs. Federal Court in the Southern District of California (other installations)
- Child Pornography: Courts-Martial at Fort Bragg vs. Federal Court in the Eastern District of North Carolina (other installations)
- Child Pornography: Federal Sentences vs. Air Force Courts-Martial, 2016–2025
- Child Pornography: Federal Sentences vs. Army Courts-Martial
- Child Pornography: Federal Sentences vs. Marine Corps Courts-Martial
- Fewer or More? General Article Charges at Army Courts-Martial, 2021–2025 (court-martial data)
- What Sentence Follows an Army General Article Conviction? (court-martial data)
- Fighting an Army General Article Charge: How Contested Cases Ended (court-martial data)
- Guilty Pleas in Army General Article Cases: How Often, and What Came Next (court-martial data)
- Air Force Article 134 Cases by the Numbers, 2016–2025 (court-martial data)
- What Sentence Follows an Air Force General Article Conviction? (court-martial data)
- Guilty Pleas in Air Force General Article Cases: How Often, and What Came Next (court-martial data)
- Is Navy-Marine Corps General Article Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 134, 2017–2025 (court-martial data)
- What Sentence Follows a Navy-Marine Corps General Article Conviction? (court-martial data)
- Not Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Article 134 Cases: What Happened at Trial (court-martial data)
- When Navy-Marine Corps Accused Plead Guilty to General Article (court-martial data)
- Article 134 (General Article): Court-Martial Data and Trends (court-martial data)
- Article 134 UCMJ: The General Article (law firm reference page)
- 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.