Federal Commercialized Vice Sentences in the Southern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025
Of 32 people sentenced for commercialized vice in the Southern District of Georgia, with fiscal years 2019 to 2024 represented, 18 (56%) received probation only and 14 (44%) received a prison term. All 32 pleaded guilty. The median prison term was 20 months, compared with 18 months across all 94 dis
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Georgia, FY201 › Commercialized Vice: Southern District of Georgia
In brief: Of 32 people sentenced for commercialized vice in the Southern District of Georgia, with fiscal years 2019 to 2024 represented, 18 (56%) received probation only and 14 (44%) received a prison term. All 32 pleaded guilty. The median prison term was 20 months, compared with 18 months across all 94 districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 32 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 the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type, grouped by the primary sentencing guideline. In this district, §2E3.1 (Gambling Offenses) was listed for 16 people.
One person had §2G1.1 (Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with an Individual Other than a Minor) as the primary guideline.
These cases were less than 1% of the 4,115 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Probation Only Was More Common Than Prison
18 of 32 people (56%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. 14 (44%) received a prison term.
Across all 94 districts, 992 people were in this offense type, and 70% were sent to prison. Probation was therefore used more often in this district.
Among those sent to prison here, the median prison term was 20 months. A quarter received 26.2 months or more, and a quarter received 18 months or less. The terms are those imposed, not time served.
One Year Dominates the Count
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 1 person, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 31. Fiscal year 2021 alone has 21 people, with a median prison term of 18 months.
The other years in the table have 1 or 5 people. A group this concentrated in one year does not show a trend, and the medians for the smaller years rest on very few sentences.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 1 | 20 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 21 | 18 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 5 | 22.5 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2024 | 5 | 23 months | 5 of 5 |
Pleas, Guideline Range, and Mandatory Minimums
All 32 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. Across all districts, 97% pleaded guilty. Among the guilty pleas, 94% had a written plea agreement and 6% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Sentences within the guideline range were 81% of the cases (26 people). Below the range at the government's request were 16% (5 people), and below the range without a government request were 3% (1 person). None was above the range.
For all districts, 42% were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 71%. No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 28 people with that information recorded (0%).
Fines and Supervised Release
A fine was ordered for 29 people (91%). Restitution was ordered for no one (0%).
Supervised release followed prison for 14 people (44%), with a median term of 36 months.
Criminal History
In criminal history, 69% were in the lowest category I, and none (0%) was in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so the records do not allow a comparison with military cases on this point.
What the Records Cannot Show
A person who was acquitted or whose case was dismissed does not appear in these numbers. Nothing in them describes what any defendant did.
The installations Fort Gordon and Fort Stewart are located in the district, but courts-martial are held in military courts rather than here.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Georgia (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Georgia South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Commercialized Vice" (32). 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 Southern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Other Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Georgia, 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.