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# Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Southern District of New York, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-child-pornography-sentences-southern-district-of-new-york/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:31:49.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:31:49.000Z
- Description: 126 people were sentenced in the Southern District of New York for child pornography (images of child exploitation) offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 39.5 months (3.3 years), compared with 90 months across all 94 federal districts. 66% of sentences were below the guid
- 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 Southern District of New York, FY20](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-southern-district-of-new-york/) › Child Pornography: Southern District of New York

**In brief:** 126 people were sentenced in the Southern District of New York for child pornography (images of child exploitation) offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. The median prison term was 39.5 months (3.3 years), compared with 90 months across all 94 federal districts. 66% of sentences were below the guideline range without a government 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 126 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 Below the Guideline Range

For each person, the U.S. Sentencing Commission's rules yield a guideline range. 83 of the 126 sentences (66%) were below that range with no government request. 22 (17%) were below it at the government's request, and 21 (17%) were within it. None were above it.

The within-range share for child pornography was 32% across all 94 districts, and 22% for all offenses in this district.

## Prison Terms

118 of the 126 people (94%) received a prison term, and 7 (6%) received probation only. The median prison term was 39.5 months (3.3 years). A quarter received 96.8 months or more, and a quarter received 18 months or less.

All 94 districts together had a median of 90 months, with 99% of people sent to prison. The median for all offenses in this district was 33 months. 45 of the 126 people with mandatory minimum information recorded (36%) had one apply.

## The Offense Type and Its Guideline

"Child Pornography" is the Commission's offense type for cases involving images of child exploitation. Every case in this group used one primary guideline, §2G2.2 (Trafficking in Material Involving the Sexual Exploitation of a Minor), with 126 people.

These cases were 1% of the 12,035 people sentenced in the district over fiscal years 2016 to 2025.

## Guilty Pleas and Trials

121 people (96%) pleaded guilty, and 5 were convicted after a trial. The plea rate was 97% across all 94 districts.

The median prison term after a guilty plea was 36 months. After a trial it was 180 months, based on 5 people. A group of 5 is too small to show a pattern. Written agreements covered 92% of the guilty pleas, and 8% were straight pleas.

## Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution

118 people (94%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 60 months. 12 people (10%) received supervised release for life.

A fine was ordered for 8 people (6%), and restitution for 54 people (43%). 81% of the people were in the lowest criminal history category (Category I), and less than 1% were in the highest (VI). The military records on this site have no criminal history measure.

## Counts and Medians by Year

The district sentenced 65 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 61 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. Single years ranged from 5 people in fiscal year 2020 to 19 people in fiscal year 2017.

Medians in the table range from 13.5 months in fiscal year 2022 to 108 months in fiscal year 2024\. These are small groups, and the table does not show a trend. Each fiscal year starts October 1.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 16               | 24 months     | 81%            |
| 2017        | 19               | 46 months     | 95%            |
| 2018        | 12               | 36 months     | 100%           |
| 2019        | 18               | 30 months     | 100%           |
| 2020        | 5                | 36 months     | 5 of 5         |
| 2021        | 12               | 60 months     | 100%           |
| 2022        | 10               | 13.5 months   | 100%           |
| 2023        | 14               | 30 months     | 100%           |
| 2024        | 14               | 108 months    | 100%           |
| 2025        | 6                | 50 months     | 5 of 6         |

## What the Records Cannot Show

The Commission's data counts convicted, sentenced people only, and it reports prison terms as ordered rather than as served.

The records do not describe the number of images or any other facts of a case. This post reports federal numbers on their own.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of New York (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New York South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Child Pornography" (126). 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 Southern District of New York, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-southern-district-of-new-york/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of New York, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-southern-district-of-new-york/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of New York, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-southern-district-of-new-york/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of New York, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-southern-district-of-new-york/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Robbery Sentences in the Southern District of New York, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-robbery-sentences-southern-district-of-new-york/) (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.