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# Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-child-pornography-sentences-western-district-of-louisiana/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:14:42.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:14:42.000Z
- Description: Among the 97 people sentenced for child pornography (images of child exploitation) offenses in the Western District of Louisiana in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 95 (98%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 97 months (8.1 years), compared with 90 months for the same offense type in all 9
- 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 Western District of Louisiana, FY20](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-louisiana/) › Child Pornography: Western District of Louisiana

**In brief:** Among the 97 people sentenced for child pornography (images of child exploitation) offenses in the Western District of Louisiana in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 95 (98%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 97 months (8.1 years), compared with 90 months for the same offense type in all 94 federal districts. All 97 people pleaded guilty.

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 97 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 in These Cases

The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 97 people in this district whose offense type was Child Pornography. Of these, 95 (98%) were sentenced to prison, and 2 (2%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.

Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 97 months (8.1 years). A quarter received 151 months or more, and a quarter received 63 months or less. These are the terms imposed, not the time served.

Across all 94 federal districts, 13,674 people were sentenced for this offense type, 99% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 90 months. For all offenses in this district, the median prison term was 60 months.

## Every Case Ended in a Guilty Plea

All 97 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and 0 were convicted after a trial. In all districts, 97% of people sentenced for this offense type pleaded guilty. For all offenses in this district, the share was 96%.

Among guilty pleas, 100% had a written plea agreement, and 0% were straight pleas with no agreement. The records do not say what the agreements contained.

## Mandatory Minimums and the Guideline Range

A mandatory minimum is a lowest prison term set by statute. One applied to 56 of the 97 people with that information recorded (58%).

The sentence was within the guideline range for 59 people (61%). Another 35 people (36%) were sentenced below the range without a government request, and 1 (1%) was sentenced below it at the government's request. A sentence above the range was given to 2 people (2%).

In all districts, 32% of sentences for this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the share was 67%. The share within the range for these cases was higher than the national figure for the offense type and lower than the district figure for all offenses.

## Which Guidelines Were the Primary Guideline

The offense type is the Commission's category, and it is assigned from the primary guideline. §2G2.2 (Trafficking in Material Involving the Sexual Exploitation of a Minor) was the primary guideline for 96 people. §2X1.1 (Attempt, Solicitation, or Conspiracy (Not Covered by a Specific Offense Guideline)) was the primary guideline for 1.

Child pornography cases were 3% of the 3,011 people sentenced in this district in the period.

## Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History

Supervised release after prison was ordered for 95 people (98%). The median term was 96 months, and 14 people (14%) received supervised release for life.

A fine was ordered for 1 person (1%), and restitution was ordered for 19 (20%).

In criminal history, 75% were in the lowest category (category I), and 2% were in the highest (VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Counts by Fiscal Year

Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 41 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 56\. Fiscal years begin in October and end the following September. The yearly counts are small, so the table does not show a trend.

The installations in this district, Barksdale AFB and Fort Polk, appear in this site's court-martial data. Their courts-martial are held in military courts, and these federal sentences were imposed in the district court.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 8                | 97 months     | 8 of 8         |
| 2017        | 11               | 63 months     | 100%           |
| 2018        | 9                | 63 months     | 9 of 9         |
| 2019        | 13               | 97 months     | 100%           |
| 2020        | 9                | 80 months     | 9 of 9         |
| 2021        | 7                | 102 months    | 7 of 7         |
| 2022        | 6                | 75 months     | 6 of 6         |
| 2023        | 11               | 120 months    | 100%           |
| 2024        | 9                | 121 months    | 9 of 9         |
| 2025        | 14               | 120 months    | 100%           |

## What the Records Cannot Show

Only people who were convicted and sentenced are in the Commission data, so acquittals and dismissals are missing. The records give no reason for any sentence being above, within, or below the range.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Louisiana (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Louisiana West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Child Pornography" (97). 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 Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-louisiana/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-western-district-of-louisiana/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-western-district-of-louisiana/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-western-district-of-louisiana/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-western-district-of-louisiana/) (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.