Federal Commercialized Vice Sentences in the Northern District of Florida, FY2016–2025
12 of the 19 people sentenced for commercialized vice offenses in the Northern District of Florida in fiscal years 2016 to 2024 had gambling offenses as the primary guideline. 17 (89%) received a prison term, and the median was 18 months, the same as the national median. 5 sentences (26%) were above
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Northern District of Florida, FY201 › Commercialized Vice: Northern District of Florida
In brief: 12 of the 19 people sentenced for commercialized vice offenses in the Northern District of Florida in fiscal years 2016 to 2024 had gambling offenses as the primary guideline. 17 (89%) received a prison term, and the median was 18 months, the same as the national median. 5 sentences (26%) were above the guideline range.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 19 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 series, which builds on Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System. How the numbers were built: How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built.
Gambling Offenses Were the Most Common Guideline
"Commercialized Vice" is a category used by the U.S. Sentencing Commission, not a single offense. In this district, 12 people had §2E3.1 (Gambling Offenses) as the primary guideline.
7 people had §2G1.1 (Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with an Individual Other than a Minor). The group totals 19 people, who were less than 1% of the 2,768 people sentenced in the district over fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Prison Terms and Probation
17 of the 19 people (89%) received a prison term, and 2 (11%) received probation only. The median prison term was 18 months. A quarter received 42 months or more, and a quarter received 8 months or less.
Across all 94 districts, this offense type had 992 people. 70% were sent to prison, and the median was 18 months. The share sent to prison here is higher than the national share, and the median is the same. For all offenses in the district, the median was 48 months.
How Many Sentences Were Above the Range
5 of the 19 people (26%) were sentenced above the guideline range. 6 (32%) were within the range, 6 (32%) were below it at the government's request, and 2 (11%) were below it without a government request.
Nationally, 42% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in the district, the share was 44%. The share within the range here is lower than both. The records do not give reasons for any sentence above the range.
No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 19 people.
Pleas
18 of 19 (95%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. The national rate was 97%, and the rate for all offenses in the district was 93%.
The median prison term was 16.5 months after a guilty plea and 18 months after the 1 trial conviction. Every guilty plea (100%) had a written plea agreement.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
11 people (58%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 1 (5%), and restitution for none.
79% were in the lowest criminal history category, and 0% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Counts
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 7 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 12. In the table, 2016 has 7 people with a median of 42 months, and 2020 has 6 with a median of 13.5 months.
Some later years show a median of 0 months, and 2024 shows n/a. The counts are 1 or 2 people in each of those years, so the table does not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 7 | 42 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2020 | 6 | 13.5 months | 5 of 6 |
| 2021 | 2 | 0 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2022 | 1 | 18 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2024 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
Installations and What the Data Omits
The court-martial data on this site includes Eglin AFB, Hurlburt Field, Pensacola, and Tyndall AFB, which are in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court.
People who were acquitted or whose cases were dismissed are not in the federal data. Prison terms are those imposed, not time served.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Florida (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Florida North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Commercialized Vice" (19). 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 (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- Federal Sentences in the Northern District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles (source)
- Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants) (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. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.