> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # §2A3.1 Criminal Sexual Abuse: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a3-1-criminal-sexual-abuse-fy2025/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:26:09.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:26:09.000Z - Description: Fiscal year 2025 is the last year in the series for §2A3.1, Criminal Sexual Abuse. 135 people were sentenced, all of them to prison, with a median prison term of 180 months (15 years). That is lower than the 188 months in fiscal year 2024. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [§2A3.1 Criminal Sexual Abuse](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a3-1-criminal-sexual-abuse/) › §2A3.1: FY2025 **In brief:** Fiscal year 2025 is the last year in the series for §2A3.1, Criminal Sexual Abuse. 135 people were sentenced, all of them to prison, with a median prison term of 180 months (15 years). That is lower than the 188 months in fiscal year 2024. Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025 This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 135 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/). ## Fiscal Year 2025 Compared With 2024 In fiscal year 2024, 154 people were sentenced under §2A3.1 with a median prison term of 188 months. In fiscal year 2025, the U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 135 people, and the median was 180 months. The share sentenced within the guideline range was 45% in 2024 and 41% in 2025\. Both changes are small, and the records do not show why they happened. A comparison of 1 year with the next does not make a trend. The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025. ## Prison and Life Sentences in 2025 All 135 people (100%) received a prison term. A quarter received 303 months or more, and a quarter received 109 months or less. 7 people received a life sentence. For all 66,662 people sentenced in federal court in 2025 under every guideline, the median prison term was 24 months. The §2A3.1 median was higher. ## Release After Prison, Fines, and Restitution All 135 people (100%) were ordered to serve supervised release. The median term was 60 months, and 38 people (28%) received supervised release for life. A fine was ordered for 7 people (5%). Restitution was ordered for 34 people (25%). A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 34 of the 134 people with that information recorded (25%). ## How Many Pleaded Guilty 114 people (84%) pleaded guilty, and 21 were convicted after a trial. Across federal court as a whole in 2025, 98% pleaded guilty. After a guilty plea, the median prison term was 163 months. After a trial, it was 360 months, based on 21 people. 96% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 4% were straight pleas with no agreement. ## The Range and the Wider Federal Numbers 55 people (41%) were sentenced within the range. 41 people (30%) were below it at the government's request. 31 people (23%) were below it without a government request. 8 people (6%) were above the range. In all federal cases in 2025, 51% were within the range. Within-range sentences were less common under §2A3.1\. For fiscal years 2016 to 2025 together, the guideline covered 1,269 people, with a median of 168 months, 83% guilty pleas, and 41% within the range. The table lists each year. | 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% | ## Criminal History, Crosswalk, and What Is Missing 62% of the group was in the lowest criminal history category (category I), and 1% was in the highest (category VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field. Article 120 of the UCMJ is paired with this guideline in the approved crosswalk, and separate comparison posts cover that pairing. The Commission's offense type here is Sexual Abuse. People who were acquitted or whose cases were dismissed are not in the files. Prison terms are those imposed, not time served. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2025 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2A3.1 (135), 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article) - [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts) - [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method) - [§2A3.1 Criminal Sexual Abuse: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a3-1-criminal-sexual-abuse/) (overview) - [§2A3.1 Criminal Sexual Abuse: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2024](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a3-1-criminal-sexual-abuse-fy2024/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-sentences-outside-guideline-range/) - [Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-mandatory-minimum-sentences/) - [Fewer or More? Sexual Assault Charges at Army Courts-Martial, 2021–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-120-trend-2021-2025/) (court-martial data) - [Article 120 Sentences in the Army: Confinement and Discharges, 2021–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-120-sent-2021-2025/) (court-martial data) - [Fighting an Army Sexual Assault Charge: How Contested Cases Ended](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-120-acq-2021-2025/) (court-martial data) - [When Army Accused Plead Guilty to Sexual Assault](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-120-plea-2021-2025/) (court-martial data) - [Is Air Force Sexual Assault Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 120, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-120-trend-2016-2025/) (court-martial data) - [How Much Confinement for an Article 120 Conviction in the Air Force?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-120-sent-2016-2025/) (court-martial data) - [When Air Force Accused Plead Guilty to Sexual Assault](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-120-plea-2016-2025/) (court-martial data) - [Is Navy-Marine Corps Sexual Assault Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 120, 2017–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-120-trend-2017-2025/) (court-martial data) - [Article 120 Sentences in the Navy-Marine Corps: Confinement and Discharges, 2017–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-120-sent-2017-2025/) (court-martial data) - [Not Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Article 120 Cases: What Happened at Trial](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-120-acq-2017-2025/) (court-martial data) - [Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Sexual Assault Cases: How Often, and What Came Next](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-120-plea-2017-2025/) (court-martial data) - [Article 120 (Rape and Sexual Assault): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-120-courts-martial/) (court-martial data) - [Article 120 UCMJ Explained by a Former Special Victim Prosecutor](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-120-sexual-assault/?ref=bodiesburied.com) (law firm reference page) - [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source) - [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.