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# Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Northern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-child-pornography-sentences-northern-district-of-georgia/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:03:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:03:00.000Z
- Description: 174 people were sentenced in the Northern District of Georgia for child pornography (images of child exploitation) offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 168 (97%) received a prison term, with a median of 60 months, compared with 90 months for this offense type across all 94 districts. 73% of senten
- 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 Northern District of Georgia, FY201](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-georgia/) › Child Pornography: Northern District of Georgia

**In brief:** 174 people were sentenced in the Northern District of Georgia for child pornography (images of child exploitation) offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. 168 (97%) received a prison term, with a median of 60 months, compared with 90 months for this offense type across all 94 districts. 73% of sentences (127) were below the guideline range at the government's request.

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 174 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/).

## Sentences Against the Guideline Range

All 174 people had a guideline range recorded. 73% (127) were sentenced below the range at the government's request. 13% (22) were below it without a government request, 12% (21) were within it, and 2% (4) were above it.

Across all districts, 32% of sentences for this offense type were within the range. The share within the range was lower in this district. The records show that the government requested the departure, but they do not show its reasons.

## Prison Terms

168 of the 174 people (97%) received a prison term, and 3 (2%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Across all districts, 99% were sent to prison.

Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 60 months (5 years). A quarter received 99 months or more, and a quarter received 39.5 months or less. The all-district median was 90 months, which is higher. The median for all offenses in the district was 41 months.

## What the Offense Type Covers

The Commission's offense type is named "Child Pornography." Another way to describe the conduct is images of child exploitation.

All 174 people had the same primary guideline: §2G2.2, Trafficking in Material Involving the Sexual Exploitation of a Minor. These cases were 3% of the 5,362 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. 68 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 106 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025.

## Mandatory Minimums and Pleas

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 90 of the 174 people (52%). 169 of the 174 (97%) pleaded guilty, and 5 were convicted after a trial.

The median prison term after a guilty plea was 60 months. After a trial it was 150 months, based on only 5 people. Among the guilty pleas, more than 99% had a written plea agreement and less than 1% were straight pleas.

## Long Supervision After Release

168 people (97%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison. The median term was 120 months, and 17 people (10%) received supervised release for life.

Restitution was ordered for 89 people (51%), and a fine for 4 (2%). 81% were in the lowest criminal history category, category I, and 0% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Yearly Figures

The count was highest in fiscal year 2025, at 24 people, and lowest in fiscal year 2020, at 6\. The median prison term was 42 months in fiscal year 2020, 70.8 months in fiscal year 2023, and 51 months in fiscal year 2025.

Yearly counts of 6 to 24 people are small, so the table does not show a trend.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 19               | 67.5 months   | 95%            |
| 2017        | 18               | 60 months     | 94%            |
| 2018        | 17               | 60 months     | 94%            |
| 2019        | 14               | 60 months     | 100%           |
| 2020        | 6                | 42 months     | 6 of 6         |
| 2021        | 20               | 60 months     | 100%           |
| 2022        | 23               | 65 months     | 96%            |
| 2023        | 16               | 70.8 months   | 94%            |
| 2024        | 17               | 70 months     | 100%           |
| 2025        | 24               | 51 months     | 100%           |

## What the Records Cannot Show

The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not included. Prison terms are those imposed, not time served.

The sheet gives no details about the images or the conduct in any case, so it cannot explain why the median prison term here is lower than the all-district median.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Georgia (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Georgia North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Child Pornography" (174). 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 Northern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-georgia/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-northern-district-of-georgia/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-northern-district-of-georgia/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-northern-district-of-georgia/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-northern-district-of-georgia/) (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.