Federal Commercialized Vice Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025
Probation only was the most common sentence for commercialized vice in the Southern District of Mississippi: 7 of 11 people (64%) in fiscal years 2016 to 2024. Another 3 (27%) received a prison term, with a median of 18 months. Across all 94 districts, 70% of people in this offense type were sent to
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, F › Commercialized Vice: Southern District of Mississippi
In brief: Probation only was the most common sentence for commercialized vice in the Southern District of Mississippi: 7 of 11 people (64%) in fiscal years 2016 to 2024. Another 3 (27%) received a prison term, with a median of 18 months. Across all 94 districts, 70% of people in this offense type were sent to prison.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 11 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 More Common Than Prison
Of the 11 people sentenced, 7 (64%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. A prison term went to 3 people (27%).
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 18 months. A quarter received 12.5 months or less, and a quarter received 23.5 months or more. With only 3 people sent to prison, these figures describe a very small group.
Across all 94 districts, the median prison term for this offense type was also 18 months. For all offenses in the Southern District of Mississippi, it was 48 months. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
Commercial Sex and Gambling Guidelines
"Commercialized Vice" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's category. It groups cases by primary guideline, and 2 guidelines make up the group here.
The first is §2G1.1 (Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with an Individual Other than a Minor), with 6 cases. The second is §2E3.1 (Gambling Offenses), with 5 cases.
The records do not split the results by guideline, so they cannot show whether sentences differed between them.
Below the Guideline Range More Often Than Within It
The sentence was below the guideline range without a government request for 6 people (55%) and below it at the government's request for 3 people (27%). It was within the range for 2 people (18%). None was above the range (0%).
The within-range share was 42% for this type across all 94 districts and 69% for all offenses in the district. Both were higher than the district's 18% for this type. No mandatory minimum applied to any of the 11 people (0%).
Guilty Pleas
All 11 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. The rate was 97% for this type across all 94 districts and for all offenses in the district.
Among guilty pleas, 91% had a written plea agreement and 9% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Fines, Supervised Release, and Criminal History
A fine was ordered for 7 people (64%), and restitution for 1 person (9%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 3 people (27%), with a median term of 36 months.
In the lowest criminal history category, category I, were 45% of the people. None were in the highest, category VI (0%).
Counts by Year
Commercialized vice cases were less than 1% of the 3,361 people sentenced in the district over fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 6 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 5 people. A fiscal year starts on October 1 and ends the following September.
The table lists years with 1 to 4 people each. Where a year shows "n/a," no median prison term is available. Groups this small do not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 | 7 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2017 | 4 | n/a | 4 of 4 |
| 2019 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2020 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 |
| 2021 | 2 | 18 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2024 | 1 | 29 months | 1 of 1 |
What the Data Does Not Show
The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data, and the records do not say why a sentence was probation instead of prison.
Keesler AFB, Mississippi, is in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court, and these numbers do not describe them.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Mississippi (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Mississippi South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Commercialized Vice" (11). 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 Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, 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.