Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the District of North Dakota, FY2016–2025
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 73 of the 105 people (70%) sentenced for child pornography (images of child exploitation) offenses in the District of North Dakota in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. All 105 received prison, with a median term of 108 months (9 years). That is higher than the 90
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of North Dakota, FY2016–20 › Child Pornography: District of North Dakota
In brief: A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 73 of the 105 people (70%) sentenced for child pornography (images of child exploitation) offenses in the District of North Dakota in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. All 105 received prison, with a median term of 108 months (9 years). That is higher than the 90 months for this offense type across all 94 districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 105 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.
Mandatory Minimums and Prison Terms
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 73 of the 105 people with that information recorded (70%). Every person in the group (100%) received a prison term, and none received probation only.
The median prison term was 108 months. A quarter received 72 months or less, and a quarter received 168 months or more. For all offenses in the District of North Dakota, the median was 36 months. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
How the Commission Counts These Cases
The U.S. Sentencing Commission uses the offense type "Child Pornography" for cases involving images of child exploitation. In this district, all 105 people had the same primary guideline, §2G2.2 (Trafficking in Material Involving the Sexual Exploitation of a Minor).
These cases were 3% of the 3,337 people sentenced in the district. Across all 94 districts, 99% of people in this type were sent to prison.
Supervised Release, Often for Life
All 105 people (100%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison. The median term was 120 months, and 18 people (17%) received supervised release for life.
Restitution was ordered for 68 people (65%). No fine was ordered for anyone (0%).
Guilty Pleas
Of the 105 people, 104 (more than 99%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. The rate was 97% across all 94 districts and 97% for all offenses in the district.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 108 months. For the 1 person convicted at trial and sent to prison, it was 180 months. A single case does not show how trials generally end. Among guilty pleas, more than 99% had a written plea agreement.
Position Against the Guideline Range
The sentence was within the guideline range for 45 people (43%). It was below the range without a government request for 35 people (33%), and below it at the government's request for 23 people (22%). It was above the range for 2 people (2%).
The within-range share was 32% across all 94 districts for this type and 34% for all offenses in the district. The district's 43% was higher than both.
Criminal History and Yearly Counts
In the lowest criminal history category, category I, were 59% of the people, and 5% were in the highest, category VI.
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 42 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 63 people. A fiscal year starts on October 1 and ends the following September. The yearly counts range from 5 people to 20 people, and the yearly medians range from 48 months in 2018 to 175 months in 2025. Groups this small do not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 20 | 114.5 months | 95% |
| 2017 | 10 | 102 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 7 | 48 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2019 | 5 | 120 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2020 | 9 | 120 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2021 | 8 | 87.5 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2022 | 11 | 80 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 14 | 120 months | 100% |
| 2024 | 14 | 114 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 7 | 175 months | 7 of 7 |
What the Records Do Not Show
The data includes only people who were convicted and sentenced, so cases that ended in acquittal or dismissal are absent. The sheet does not describe the images, the number of files, or any other fact of a case.
Grand Forks AFB and Minot AFB, both in North Dakota, lie in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts. These federal figures are reported on their own.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of North Dakota (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "North Dakota") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Child Pornography" (105). 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 District of North Dakota, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of North Dakota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of North Dakota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of North Dakota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Assault Sentences in the District of North Dakota, 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.