§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 2023
In fiscal year 2023, 49% of the 43 people sentenced under guideline §2A3.2 received a sentence within the guideline range, a lower share than the 67% in fiscal year 2022 and the 65% in fiscal year 2024. A total of 9 people (21%) received a sentence above the range. The median prison term was 35 mont
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › §2A3.2 Criminal Sexual Abuse of a Minor Under the Age of Six › §2A3.2: FY2023
In brief: In fiscal year 2023, 49% of the 43 people sentenced under guideline §2A3.2 received a sentence within the guideline range, a lower share than the 67% in fiscal year 2022 and the 65% in fiscal year 2024. A total of 9 people (21%) received a sentence above the range. The median prison term was 35 months (2.9 years).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 43 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2023. 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.
A Lower Within-Range Share in 2023
Of the 43 people in this group, 21 (49%) were sentenced within the guideline range. The year before, 67% were. The year after, 65% were.
Sentences above the range went to 9 people (21%). Sentences below the range at the government's request went to 8 people (19%), and sentences below the range without that request went to 5 people (12%).
For all federal cases in fiscal year 2023, 42% were within the range. The records cannot show why the §2A3.2 share was lower in 2023 than in the neighboring years.
Prison Sentences and Probation
A prison term went to 42 of the 43 people (98%). One person (2%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.
The median prison term was 35 months. A quarter of those sent to prison received 60 months or more, and a quarter received 18 months or less.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 43 people (2%).
Guilty Pleas and Trial Convictions
A total of 41 of 43 people (95%) pleaded guilty, and 2 were convicted after a trial. Of those who pleaded guilty, 93% had a written plea agreement and 7% did not.
After a guilty plea, the median prison term was 33.5 months. After a trial, it was 111 months, based on 2 people. A figure from 2 people cannot be taken as the usual trial sentence.
Scope of the Count
The 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 2023 ran from October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023.
The offense type for all 43 cases was Sexual Abuse. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data.
After Prison, and Criminal History
Supervised release followed prison for 42 people (98%), with a median term of 60 months. Supervised release for life went to 7 people (16%).
A fine was ordered for 2 people (5%), and restitution for 4 (9%).
Criminal history category I, the lowest, applied to 70% of the group, and category VI, the highest, applied to 0%. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Comparison With the Neighboring Years and the Federal Total
Fiscal year 2022 had 45 people under this guideline and a median of 41 months. Fiscal year 2024 had 40 people and a median of 30 months.
For every guideline in fiscal year 2023, 64,124 people were sentenced. The median prison term was 30 months, and 97% pleaded guilty.
Across fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 365 people were sentenced under §2A3.2. Of these, 98% went to prison, the median prison term was 36 months, and 97% pleaded guilty. The table lists every 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% |
Court-Martial Pairing and Caution
The approved crosswalk pairs this guideline with Article 120b of the UCMJ. These records do not give reasons for any sentence. One year of 43 people is not a trend.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2023 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2A3.2 (43), 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)
- §2A3.2 Criminal Sexual Abuse of a Minor Under the Age of Sixteen Years (Statutory Rape) or Attempt to Commit Such Acts: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (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 2022 (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 2024 (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? Child Sexual Abuse Charges at Army Courts-Martial, 2021–2025 (court-martial data)
- How Much Confinement for an Article 120b Conviction in the Army? (court-martial data)
- How Often Are Contested Army Article 120b Cases Acquitted? (court-martial data)
- Pleading Guilty to Article 120b in the Army: What Sentences Followed? (court-martial data)
- How Has Article 120b Changed in Air Force Courts-Martial Since 2016? (court-martial data)
- How Much Confinement for an Article 120b Conviction in the Air Force? (court-martial data)
- Guilty Pleas in Air Force Child Sexual Abuse Cases: How Often, and What Came Next (court-martial data)
- Fewer or More? Child Sexual Abuse Charges at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2017–2025 (court-martial data)
- What Sentence Follows a Navy-Marine Corps Child Sexual Abuse Conviction? (court-martial data)
- Fighting a Navy-Marine Corps Child Sexual Abuse Charge: How Contested Cases Ended (court-martial data)
- Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Child Sexual Abuse Cases: How Often, and What Came Next (court-martial data)
- Article 120b (Rape and Sexual Assault of a Child): Court-Martial Data and Trends (court-martial data)
- Article 120b UCMJ: Rape and Sexual Assault of a Child (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.