Federal Commercialized Vice Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025
The Southern District of Texas sentenced 44 people for commercialized vice offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 4 months, compared with 18 months across all districts. Gambling was the most common primary guideline, with 34 people.
· Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016– › Commercialized Vice: Southern District of Texas
In brief: The Southern District of Texas sentenced 44 people for commercialized vice offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 4 months, compared with 18 months across all districts. Gambling was the most common primary guideline, with 34 people.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 44 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 Cases Were the Largest Group
Commercialized Vice is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's name for this offense type. In this district, 34 of the 44 people had §2E3.1 (Gambling Offenses) as the primary guideline.
The other primary guideline listed was §2G1.1 (Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with an Individual Other than a Minor), with 10 people. In the national data for the same offense type, 992 people were sentenced. In this district, the cases were less than 1% of the 71,026 people sentenced.
Short Prison Terms and Frequent Probation
A total of 27 people (61%) received a prison term, and 15 (34%) received probation only. The median prison term was 4 months. A quarter received 12 months or more, and a quarter received 0.3 months or less.
In all districts, 70% of people in this offense type were sent to prison, and the median was 18 months. This district's share sent to prison was lower and its median was lower. The median for all offenses in the district was 13 months.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 14 | 6 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 3 | 3 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2018 | 7 | n/a | 7 of 7 |
| 2022 | 1 | 12 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2023 | 1 | 72 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2024 | 5 | 12 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2025 | 13 | 0.4 months | 100% |
Every Person Pleaded Guilty
All 44 people pleaded guilty, and 0 were convicted after a trial. The national rate was 97%. Among the guilty pleas here, 89% had a written plea agreement and 11% were straight pleas.
No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 44 people with that information recorded.
Where Sentences Fell Against the Guideline Range
For 20 of the 44 people (45%), the sentence was within the guideline range. Below the range at the government's request were 11 people (25%), and below it without a request were 11 (25%). Above the range were 2 (5%).
In all districts, 42% of sentences for this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in this district, 58% were.
Fines, Restitution, and Supervised Release
A fine was ordered for 11 people (25%), and restitution for 2 (5%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 22 people (50%), with a median term of 36 months.
In criminal history, 80% were in the lowest category and 5% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Counts and Limits of the Records
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 24 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 20. Fiscal year 2025 had 13 people with a median of 0.4 months, and fiscal year 2016 had 14 with a median of 6 months. Several years have no listed cases, and others have only 1.
The Commission's data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals, dismissals, and uncharged cases do not appear. It does not describe the conduct behind any gambling or commercial sex charge.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Texas (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Texas South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Commercialized Vice" (44). 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 Texas, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, 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.