Federal Commercialized Vice Sentences in the Northern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025
Of the 13 people sentenced for commercialized vice offenses in the Northern District of Ohio in fiscal years 2016 to 2024, 9 (69%) received probation only and 1 (8%) received a prison term of 60 months. Across all 94 federal districts, 70% of people in this offense type were sent to prison. Nearly a
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Northern District of Ohio, FY2016–2 › Commercialized Vice: Northern District of Ohio
In brief: Of the 13 people sentenced for commercialized vice offenses in the Northern District of Ohio in fiscal years 2016 to 2024, 9 (69%) received probation only and 1 (8%) received a prison term of 60 months. Across all 94 federal districts, 70% of people in this offense type were sent to prison. Nearly all of the district's cases were gambling offenses.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 13 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.
Probation Was the Most Common Sentence
Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, was the sentence for 9 of the 13 people, with no prison or other confinement. One person (8%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 60 months. With a single prison term, the quarter-level figures are also 60 months, so the median describes 1 person.
Prison terms in these records are the terms imposed, not the time served.
Across all 94 districts, this offense type covers 992 people. In those districts, 70% were sent to prison and the median prison term was 18 months.
Gambling Offenses Make Up Almost All of These Cases
"Commercialized Vice" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type, assigned by the primary guideline in each case. In this district, 12 of the 13 cases were under §2E3.1 (Gambling Offenses).
The other case was under §2G1.1 (Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with an Individual Other than a Minor).
The prison share in this district is lower than the national share for the offense type, and gambling offenses are the main group in the district. The records cannot show whether one has anything to do with the other.
Guilty Pleas and Plea Agreements
All 13 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none were convicted after a trial. Across all 94 districts, 97% pleaded guilty. For all offenses in the Northern District of Ohio, the figure was 96%.
Among the guilty pleas, 85% had a written plea agreement and 15% were straight pleas with no agreement. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 13 people.
Fines, Supervision, and the Guideline Range
A fine was ordered for 6 people (46%). Restitution was ordered for 0. Only 1 person (8%) was ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a term of 60 months.
Sentences were within the guideline range for 31% of the 13 people (4). Another 38% (5) were below the range without a government request, 23% (3) were below it at the government's request, and 8% (1) were above it.
For all 94 districts, 42% of sentences for this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in the district, the figure was 43%.
Criminal History and Timing
In the Commission's data, 85% were in the lowest criminal history category I and 8% were in the highest, VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Commercialized vice cases were less than 1% of the 7,866 people sentenced in the district across fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 2 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 11. The fiscal year runs from October 1 through the end of September.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2017 | 1 | 60 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2020 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 4 | n/a | 4 of 4 |
| 2024 | 6 | n/a | 6 of 6 |
What the Records Cannot Show
The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data.
The cases are few, and 6 of the 13 were sentenced in fiscal year 2024. The table shows n/a for the years with no median prison term. The records do not describe individual cases, so they cannot explain why sentences differ from the national group.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Ohio (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Ohio North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Commercialized Vice" (13). 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 Ohio, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Ohio, 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.