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# Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-child-pornography-sentences-district-of-new-mexico/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:37:29.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:37:29.000Z
- Description: 70 people were sentenced for child pornography (images of child exploitation) offenses in the District of New Mexico in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 69 (99%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 120 months (10 years). The median for all 94 federal districts was 90 months.
- 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 New Mexico, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-new-mexico/) › Child Pornography: District of New Mexico

**In brief:** 70 people were sentenced for child pornography (images of child exploitation) offenses in the District of New Mexico in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. 69 (99%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 120 months (10 years). The median for all 94 federal districts was 90 months.

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 70 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 Applied to 67%

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 47 of the 70 people with that information recorded (67%). The sheet gives no national mandatory minimum figure for comparison.

1 person (1%) received probation only. Among the 69 sent to prison, a quarter received 150 months or more, and a quarter received 60 months or less.

## One Guideline Covers Every Case

Child Pornography is the Commission's name for this offense type, which covers images of child exploitation. §2G2.2 (Trafficking in Material Involving the Sexual Exploitation of a Minor) was the primary guideline in all 70 cases.

Nationally, 13,674 people were sentenced in this type, and 99% were sent to prison. Here, the cases were less than 1% of the 29,766 people sentenced in the district. The district-wide median for all offenses was 3.5 months.

## Pleas Without Trials

70 of 70 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. Nationally, 97% pleaded guilty. Among guilty pleas here, 91% had a written plea agreement and 9% were straight pleas.

Because no case went to trial, the records cannot compare plea sentences with trial sentences in this district.

## Sentences Compared With the Guideline Range

29% of the people (20) were within the guideline range. 43% (30) were below it at the government's request, and 21% (15) were below it without a request. 7% (5) were above it.

Nationally, 32% of sentences in this type were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the share was 59%.

## Supervised Release for Life and Other Orders

69 people (99%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 120 months. 9 (13%) received supervised release for life. Restitution was ordered for 47 (67%), and a fine for 2 (3%).

77% were in criminal history category I, the lowest, and 0% were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Yearly Counts

32 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 38 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. A fiscal year starts on October 1 and ends the following September.

The yearly count was 11 in 2017 and 2022, and 2 in 2020\. The yearly median was 255 months in 2020, which is 2 people, and 168 months in 2024\. Groups this small do not show a trend.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 8                | 102 months    | 8 of 8         |
| 2017        | 11               | 78 months     | 100%           |
| 2018        | 4                | 102 months    | 4 of 4         |
| 2019        | 9                | 96 months     | 9 of 9         |
| 2020        | 2                | 255 months    | 2 of 2         |
| 2021        | 4                | 120.5 months  | 4 of 4         |
| 2022        | 11               | 121 months    | 100%           |
| 2023        | 8                | 114.5 months  | 8 of 8         |
| 2024        | 7                | 168 months    | 7 of 7         |
| 2025        | 6                | 85 months     | 6 of 6         |

## What Cannot Be Learned Here

Cannon AFB, Holloman AFB, and Kirtland AFB are in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court. The data counts only people convicted and sentenced. Prison terms are those imposed, not time served. The records do not describe the facts of any case, and the term child pornography here follows the statutes and the Commission's category name.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of New Mexico (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New Mexico") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Child Pornography" (70). 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 New Mexico, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-new-mexico/) (overview)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-district-of-new-mexico/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-new-mexico/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-new-mexico/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Assault Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-assault-sentences-district-of-new-mexico/) (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.