§2A3.1 Criminal Sexual Abuse: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020
In fiscal year 2020, 71 of the 92 people sentenced under §2A3.1, Criminal Sexual Abuse, pleaded guilty (77%), and 21 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 141 months (11.8 years), and 11 people received a life sentence.
· Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 7 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › §2A3.1 Criminal Sexual Abuse › §2A3.1: FY2020
In brief: In fiscal year 2020, 71 of the 92 people sentenced under §2A3.1, Criminal Sexual Abuse, pleaded guilty (77%), and 21 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 141 months (11.8 years), and 11 people received a life sentence.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 92 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2020. 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.
Guilty Pleas and Trials in Fiscal Year 2020
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 92 people sentenced in fiscal year 2020 with §2A3.1 as the primary guideline. 71 (77%) pleaded guilty, and 21 were convicted after a trial.
The plea rate of 77% is the lowest in the yearly table for this guideline. For all federal cases in 2020, 98% pleaded guilty. The sheet does not explain the difference.
After a guilty plea, the median prison term was 120 months. After a trial, it was 360 months, based on 21 people. Among the guilty pleas, 99% had a written plea agreement and 1% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Prison Terms and Life Sentences
All 92 people (100%) received a prison term, and none received probation only. The median prison term was 141 months (11.8 years).
A quarter of the group received 271 months or more, and a quarter received 81.5 months or less. 11 people received a life sentence.
For all 64,565 people sentenced in federal court in 2020 under every guideline, the median prison term was 18 months. The §2A3.1 median was higher. The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2019 to September 30, 2020.
Mandatory Minimums and Release After Prison
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 26 of the 91 people with that information recorded (29%).
All 92 people (100%) were ordered to serve supervised release. The median term was 60 months, and 29 people (32%) received supervised release for life. A fine was ordered for 2 people (2%), and restitution for 25 (27%).
Sentences Against the Guideline Range
41 people (45%) were sentenced within the range. 35 people (38%) were below the range at the government's request. 13 people (14%) were below it without a government request. 3 people (3%) were above it.
Across all federal cases in 2020, 50% were within the range. Within-range sentences were slightly less common under §2A3.1.
Neighboring Years and the Whole Period
In fiscal year 2019, 137 people were sentenced under this guideline, the median prison term was 121 months, and 44% were within the range. In fiscal year 2021, 108 people were sentenced, the median was 148 months, and 37% were within the range.
Over fiscal years 2016 to 2025, §2A3.1 covered 1,269 people. The median prison term was 168 months, 83% pleaded guilty, and 41% were within the range. 52% of the 2020 group was in the lowest criminal history category, category I, and 2% was in the highest, category VI. The table lists every year, and a group of 92 people is too small to show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 147 | 168 months | 81% |
| 2017 | 133 | 120 months | 88% |
| 2018 | 91 | 162 months | 87% |
| 2019 | 137 | 121 months | 87% |
| 2020 | 92 | 141 months | 77% |
| 2021 | 108 | 148 months | 89% |
| 2022 | 139 | 180 months | 80% |
| 2023 | 133 | 180 months | 78% |
| 2024 | 154 | 188 months | 80% |
| 2025 | 135 | 180 months | 84% |
Context and Limits
The Commission files these cases under its Sexual Abuse offense type. This guideline is part of the approved pairing with Article 120 of the UCMJ. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
The data includes only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not counted, and prison terms are those imposed, not time served.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2020 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2A3.1 (92), U.S. Sentencing Commission individual data files. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count.
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.
Mandatory minimum sentences. Many federal statutes on drugs, images of child exploitation, child sex abuse, and firearms carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The UCMJ has mandatory minimums only for a few offenses (a dishonorable discharge or dismissal for rape and sexual assault, and life for premeditated murder). Federal sentences for these offenses are partly set by Congress, not by the judge.
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)
- §2A3.1 Criminal Sexual Abuse: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- §2A3.1 Criminal Sexual Abuse: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019 (previous or next fiscal year)
- §2A3.1 Criminal Sexual Abuse: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021 (previous or next fiscal year)
- How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range
- Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress
- Fewer or More? Sexual Assault Charges at Army Courts-Martial, 2021–2025 (court-martial data)
- Article 120 Sentences in the Army: Confinement and Discharges, 2021–2025 (court-martial data)
- Fighting an Army Sexual Assault Charge: How Contested Cases Ended (court-martial data)
- When Army Accused Plead Guilty to Sexual Assault (court-martial data)
- Is Air Force Sexual Assault Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 120, 2016–2025 (court-martial data)
- How Much Confinement for an Article 120 Conviction in the Air Force? (court-martial data)
- When Air Force Accused Plead Guilty to Sexual Assault (court-martial data)
- Is Navy-Marine Corps Sexual Assault Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 120, 2017–2025 (court-martial data)
- Article 120 Sentences in the Navy-Marine Corps: Confinement and Discharges, 2017–2025 (court-martial data)
- Not Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Article 120 Cases: What Happened at Trial (court-martial data)
- Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Sexual Assault Cases: How Often, and What Came Next (court-martial data)
- Article 120 (Rape and Sexual Assault): Court-Martial Data and Trends (court-martial data)
- Article 120 UCMJ Explained by a Former Special Victim Prosecutor (law firm reference page)
- 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.