> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Federal Commercialized Vice Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-commercialized-vice-sentences-eastern-district-of-texas/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:34:41.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:34:40.000Z - Description: Of the 27 people sentenced for commercialized vice offenses in the Eastern District of Texas in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 14 (52%) received probation only and 13 (48%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 12 months. Across all 94 federal districts, 70% of people sentenced for this off - 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 Texas, FY2016–2](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-texas/) › Commercialized Vice: Eastern District of Texas **In brief:** Of the 27 people sentenced for commercialized vice offenses in the Eastern District of Texas in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 14 (52%) received probation only and 13 (48%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 12 months. Across all 94 federal districts, 70% of people sentenced for this offense type were sent to prison. 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 27 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/). ## Probation Was More Common Than Prison In this district, 14 of the 27 people (52%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. The other 13 (48%) were sent to prison. For this offense type in all 94 federal districts together, 70% were sent to prison, so prison was less common in this district. The Commission counted 992 people for this offense type across all districts. The Eastern District of Texas group is less than 1% of the 7,998 people sentenced in the district over fiscal years 2016 to 2025. ## Length of Prison Terms Among the 13 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 12 months. A quarter received 41 months or more, and a quarter received 5 months or less. That is a wide spread for a small group. Terms are those imposed, not time served. The median across all districts for this offense type was 18 months, which is higher than the 12 months here. For all offenses in the Eastern District of Texas, the median prison term was 64.5 months. Supervised release followed prison for 13 people (48%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 5 (19%), and no one was ordered to pay restitution. No mandatory minimum was recorded for any of the 27. ## Gambling and Commercial Sex Guidelines "Commercialized Vice" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's own offense type. The records list a primary guideline for each person. The most common was §2E3.1 (Gambling Offenses), with 17 people. Another 9 people were sentenced under §2G1.1 (Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with an Individual Other than a Minor). ## Sentences Below the Guideline Range The guideline range is the sentencing range calculated under the Commission's rules. In this group, 15 people (56%) were sentenced below the range at the government's request. 9 (33%) were sentenced within the range, 1 (4%) was sentenced below it without a government request, and 2 (7%) were sentenced above it. Across all districts, 42% of sentences for this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 64%. ## Pleas and Criminal History All 27 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and all of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement. No one was convicted at trial. Across all districts, 97% pleaded guilty. In the lowest criminal history category were 78% of the group, and 0% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. ## Fiscal Year Counts The district sentenced 15 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 12 people in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The fiscal year runs from October 1 through the following September. No year has more than 6 people, and some medians are listed as n/a. The medians in the table swing widely, but the groups are too small to call that a trend. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 1 | 12 months | 1 of 1 | | 2017 | 6 | 12 months | 6 of 6 | | 2018 | 6 | 5 months | 6 of 6 | | 2019 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 | | 2020 | 4 | 5.5 months | 4 of 4 | | 2021 | 3 | 70 months | 3 of 3 | | 2022 | 1 | 0 months | 1 of 1 | | 2023 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 | | 2024 | 2 | 29.5 months | 2 of 2 | | 2025 | 1 | 2 months | 1 of 1 | ## What the Records Cannot Show The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it. The records do not explain why probation was chosen in a given case or describe the conduct involved. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Texas (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Texas East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Commercialized Vice" (27). 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. ## 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 Texas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-texas/) (overview) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-eastern-district-of-texas/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-eastern-district-of-texas/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-eastern-district-of-texas/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-eastern-district-of-texas/) (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.