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# §2A3.2 Criminal Sexual Abuse of a Minor Under the Age of Sixteen Years (Statutory Rape) or Attempt to Commit Such Acts: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a3-2-criminal-sexual-abuse-of-a-minor-under-fy2020/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:29:15.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:29:15.000Z
- Description: Only 1 of the 28 people sentenced under guideline §2A3.2 in fiscal year 2020 received a sentence above the guideline range, and 18 (64%) were sentenced within it. The median prison term was 37 months (3.1 years), while the median for all federal cases that year was 18 months. All 28 people pleaded g
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [§2A3.2 Criminal Sexual Abuse of a Minor Under the Age of Six](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a3-2-criminal-sexual-abuse-of-a-minor-under/) › §2A3.2: FY2020

**In brief:** Only 1 of the 28 people sentenced under guideline §2A3.2 in fiscal year 2020 received a sentence above the guideline range, and 18 (64%) were sentenced within it. The median prison term was 37 months (3.1 years), while the median for all federal cases that year was 18 months. All 28 people pleaded guilty.

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 28 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](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/).

## Sentences Above and Within the Guideline Range

Courts calculate a sentencing range under the guidelines before they impose a sentence. In fiscal year 2020, 18 of the 28 people (64%) received a sentence inside that range.

One person (4%) received a sentence above the range. Below-range sentences were given to 4 people (14%) on the government's request and to 5 people (18%) without that request.

The within-range share was 65% in fiscal year 2019 and 59% in fiscal year 2021\. Across all federal cases in fiscal year 2020, it was 50%.

## Prison Terms Compared With Every Federal Case

Prison terms were ordered for 27 of the 28 people (96%), and 1 person (4%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.

The median prison term was 37 months. A quarter of those sent to prison received 50.5 months or more, and a quarter received 24 months or less.

For every guideline in fiscal year 2020, 64,565 people were sentenced, and the median prison term was 18 months. The §2A3.2 median was higher. The all-guidelines group mixes many offense types, so the gap does not describe any single case.

## Every Person Pleaded Guilty

All 28 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and no one was convicted after a trial. For that reason the sheet has no trial sentence to report.

Written plea agreements covered 93% of the guilty pleas, and 7% were straight pleas. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 28 people (4%).

## What Was Counted

The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted people whose primary guideline was §2A3.2, "Criminal Sexual Abuse of a Minor Under the Age of Sixteen Years (Statutory Rape) or Attempt to Commit Such Acts." Fiscal year 2020 ran from October 1, 2019 to September 30, 2020.

The Commission's offense type for these cases was Sexual Abuse. The data includes only people who were convicted and sentenced, and prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.

## Supervised Release and Other Orders

Supervised release was ordered for 27 people (96%), with a median term of 60 months. Supervised release for life went to 5 people (18%).

A fine was ordered for 2 people (7%), and so was restitution (2 people, 7%).

Criminal history category I, the lowest, applied to 71% of the group, and category VI, the highest, applied to 0%. Court-martial records do not have a criminal history field.

## Other Fiscal Years

In fiscal year 2019, 40 people were sentenced under §2A3.2 with a median of 36.5 months. In fiscal year 2021, 39 people were sentenced with a median of 36 months.

For all of fiscal years 2016 to 2025, the Commission recorded 365 people under this guideline. Of these, 98% went to prison, the median prison term was 36 months, 97% pleaded guilty, and 57% were sentenced within the range. The table gives each fiscal year.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 33               | 31.5 months   | 100%           |
| 2017        | 28               | 24 months     | 96%            |
| 2018        | 39               | 30 months     | 100%           |
| 2019        | 40               | 36.5 months   | 98%            |
| 2020        | 28               | 37 months     | 100%           |
| 2021        | 39               | 36 months     | 100%           |
| 2022        | 45               | 41 months     | 96%            |
| 2023        | 43               | 35 months     | 95%            |
| 2024        | 40               | 30 months     | 93%            |
| 2025        | 30               | 46 months     | 93%            |

## Pairing With Article 120b and Limits

The approved crosswalk pairs this guideline with Article 120b of the UCMJ. A year with 28 people is a small group, and the records give no facts about individual cases and no reasons for the sentences.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2020 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2A3.2 (28), 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)
- [§2A3.2 Criminal Sexual Abuse of a Minor Under the Age of Sixteen Years (Statutory Rape) or Attempt to Commit Such Acts: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a3-2-criminal-sexual-abuse-of-a-minor-under/) (overview)
- [§2A3.2 Criminal Sexual Abuse of a Minor Under the Age of Sixteen Years (Statutory Rape) or Attempt to Commit Such Acts: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a3-2-criminal-sexual-abuse-of-a-minor-under-fy2019/) (previous or next fiscal year)
- [§2A3.2 Criminal Sexual Abuse of a Minor Under the Age of Sixteen Years (Statutory Rape) or Attempt to Commit Such Acts: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a3-2-criminal-sexual-abuse-of-a-minor-under-fy2021/) (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? Child Sexual Abuse Charges at Army Courts-Martial, 2021–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-120b-trend-2021-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [How Much Confinement for an Article 120b Conviction in the Army?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-120b-sent-2021-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [How Often Are Contested Army Article 120b Cases Acquitted?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-120b-acq-2021-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [Pleading Guilty to Article 120b in the Army: What Sentences Followed?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-120b-plea-2021-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [How Has Article 120b Changed in Air Force Courts-Martial Since 2016?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-120b-trend-2016-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [How Much Confinement for an Article 120b Conviction in the Air Force?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-120b-sent-2016-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [Guilty Pleas in Air Force Child Sexual Abuse Cases: How Often, and What Came Next](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-120b-plea-2016-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [Fewer or More? Child Sexual Abuse Charges at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2017–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-120b-trend-2017-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [What Sentence Follows a Navy-Marine Corps Child Sexual Abuse Conviction?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-120b-sent-2017-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [Fighting a Navy-Marine Corps Child Sexual Abuse Charge: How Contested Cases Ended](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-120b-acq-2017-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Child Sexual Abuse Cases: How Often, and What Came Next](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-120b-plea-2017-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [Article 120b (Rape and Sexual Assault of a Child): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-120b-courts-martial/) (court-martial data)
- [Article 120b UCMJ: Rape and Sexual Assault of a Child](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-120b/?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.