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# Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-child-pornography-sentences-eastern-district-of-wisconsin/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:16:33.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:16:33.000Z
- Description: In the Eastern District of Wisconsin, 95 people were sentenced for child pornography (images of child exploitation) offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 94 received prison, with a median prison term of 75 months, compared with 90 months across all 94 federal districts.
- 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 Eastern District of Wisconsin, FY20](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-wisconsin/) › Child Pornography: Eastern District of Wisconsin

**In brief:** In the Eastern District of Wisconsin, 95 people were sentenced for child pornography (images of child exploitation) offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. 94 received prison, with a median prison term of 75 months, compared with 90 months across all 94 federal districts.

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 95 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/).

## Prison Terms for Child Pornography Offenses

The U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type "Child Pornography" covers federal cases involving images of child exploitation. In this district, 94 of 95 people (99%) received a prison term, and 1 (1%) received probation only.

Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 75 months (6.2 years). A quarter received 120 months or more, and a quarter received 60 months or less. The all-districts median was 90 months, which is higher than the median here.

Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.

## Mandatory Minimums

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 69 of the 95 people with that information recorded (73%). This is a high share compared with the district's other offense types, where many cases had no mandatory minimum.

The sheet does not show which charges carried the minimums.

## Sentences Against the Guideline Range

Sentences within the guideline range were 15% (14 people). Below the range at the government's request were 34% (32), and below the range without a government request were 41% (39). Above the range were 11% (10).

In all districts together, 32% of child pornography sentences were within the range. The district's figure for all offenses was 17%.

## Supervised Release Often Lasted Years

After prison, 94 people (99%) were ordered to serve supervised release. The median term was 72 months, and 9 people (9%) received supervised release for life.

A fine was ordered for 0 people, and restitution for 24 (25%).

The median prison term for all offenses in this district was 48 months, so child pornography cases had a higher median than the district's cases overall. Guilty pleas were 99% here and 97% across all districts.

## Pleas and Criminal History

A total of 94 of 95 people (99%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. All guilty pleas (100%) had a written plea agreement.

The median prison term after a guilty plea was 72 months. The trial figure, 132 months, is based on 1 person and says nothing general.

In the federal data, 63% were in the lowest criminal history category, category I, and 4% in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## The Guideline Used and the District Context

All 95 people were sentenced mainly under §2G2.2 (Trafficking in Material Involving the Sexual Exploitation of a Minor). The statutes behind these cases use the term "child pornography."

These cases were 3% of the 2,907 people sentenced in the district. Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data.

## Counts by Fiscal Year

The district sentenced 29 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 66 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. Fiscal years run from October 1 to the end of September.

Yearly counts range from 4 to 18, which is small. The table should not be read as showing a trend.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 7                | 60 months     | 7 of 7         |
| 2017        | 8                | 60 months     | 8 of 8         |
| 2018        | 6                | 78 months     | 6 of 6         |
| 2019        | 8                | 82 months     | 8 of 8         |
| 2020        | 4                | 99.4 months   | 4 of 4         |
| 2021        | 12               | 60 months     | 100%           |
| 2022        | 17               | 96 months     | 100%           |
| 2023        | 7                | 108 months    | 7 of 7         |
| 2024        | 18               | 120 months    | 94%            |
| 2025        | 8                | 78 months     | 8 of 8         |

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Wisconsin (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Wisconsin East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Child Pornography" (95). 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 Eastern District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-wisconsin/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-eastern-district-of-wisconsin/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-eastern-district-of-wisconsin/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Robbery Sentences in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-robbery-sentences-eastern-district-of-wisconsin/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-eastern-district-of-wisconsin/) (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.