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# Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the District of Kansas, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-child-pornography-sentences-district-of-kansas/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:10:03.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:10:03.000Z
- Description: In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 146 people were sentenced in the District of Kansas for child pornography (images of child exploitation) offenses. The median prison term was 103.5 months (8.6 years), compared with 90 months across all 94 federal districts. A mandatory minimum applied to 95 of the 146
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the District of Kansas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-kansas/) › Child Pornography: District of Kansas

**In brief:** In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 146 people were sentenced in the District of Kansas for child pornography (images of child exploitation) offenses. The median prison term was 103.5 months (8.6 years), compared with 90 months across all 94 federal districts. A mandatory minimum applied to 95 of the 146 (65%).

Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025

This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 146 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/).

## Mandatory Minimums and Prison Terms

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 95 of the 146 people (65%). A mandatory minimum is a prison term set by law that a judge generally cannot go below.

Of the 146, 144 (99%) received prison and 2 (1%) received probation only. The median was 103.5 months, which is the middle value of all the prison terms. A quarter received 152 months or more, and a quarter received 72 months or less.

The district's median for all offense types was 46 months.

## The Single Guideline

The Commission's offense type "Child Pornography" covers these cases, also described as images of child exploitation. All 146 people were sentenced under §2G2.2 (Trafficking in Material Involving the Sexual Exploitation of a Minor).

These cases were 3% of the 4,217 people sentenced in the district.

## Position Against the Guideline Range

The sentence was within the range for 34% (49). It was below the range at the government's request for 30% (44), and below the range without a government request for 35% (51).

Above the range were 1% (2). The guideline range is the sentencing range calculated under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines for each case. In all districts, 32% of child pornography sentences were within the range.

## Pleas and Trials

There were 144 guilty pleas (99%) and 2 convictions after a trial. The median after a guilty plea was 103.5 months, and after a trial it was 194 months, based on 2 people.

Among the guilty pleas, 92% had a written plea agreement and 8% were straight pleas with no agreement.

## Supervised Release, Restitution, and Criminal History

Supervised release was ordered for 144 people (99%), with a median term of 60 months. Another 6 people (4%) received supervised release for life.

A fine was ordered for 1 person, and restitution for 94 (64%). The lowest criminal history category, category I, applied to 70% of people, and the highest, category VI, to less than 1%.

## Changes Across Fiscal Years

The district sentenced 55 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 91 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. Yearly counts were 12 to 19.

The yearly median was 76.5 months in fiscal years 2016 and 2017 and 160 months in fiscal year 2025\. The records cannot show what accounts for the difference.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 14               | 76.5 months   | 100%           |
| 2017        | 12               | 76.5 months   | 100%           |
| 2018        | 12               | 102 months    | 100%           |
| 2019        | 17               | 90 months     | 94%            |
| 2020        | 12               | 104 months    | 92%            |
| 2021        | 17               | 120 months    | 100%           |
| 2022        | 13               | 98.5 months   | 100%           |
| 2023        | 15               | 108 months    | 100%           |
| 2024        | 15               | 120 months    | 100%           |
| 2025        | 19               | 160 months    | 100%           |

## Installations and Limits

Fort Leavenworth, Fort Riley, and McConnell AFB are in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, and they are not part of these federal numbers.

Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. Dismissed cases and acquittals are not in the records. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Kansas (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Kansas") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Child Pornography" (146). 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article)
- [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts)
- [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method)
- [Federal Sentences in the District of Kansas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-kansas/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Kansas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-kansas/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Kansas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-kansas/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Kansas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-kansas/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Kansas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-district-of-kansas/) (same district, other offense type)
- [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)
- [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.