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# §2A3.4 Abusive Sexual Contact or Attempt to Commit Abusive Sexual Contact: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2022
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a3-4-abusive-sexual-contact-or-attempt-to-commit-fy2022/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:29:07.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:29:06.000Z
- Description: Fiscal year 2022 had 48 people sentenced under guideline §2A3.4, the largest count of any year from fiscal year 2016 to fiscal year 2025. The median prison term was 21 months, and 60% of sentences were within the guideline range. The median prison term for all federal cases that year was higher, at
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [§2A3.4 Abusive Sexual Contact or Attempt to Commit Abusive S](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a3-4-abusive-sexual-contact-or-attempt-to-commit/) › §2A3.4: FY2022

**In brief:** Fiscal year 2022 had 48 people sentenced under guideline §2A3.4, the largest count of any year from fiscal year 2016 to fiscal year 2025\. The median prison term was 21 months, and 60% of sentences were within the guideline range. The median prison term for all federal cases that year was higher, at 30 months.

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 48 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2022\. 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/).

## Federal Sentences Under §2A3.4 in Fiscal Year 2022

The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 48 people whose primary guideline was §2A3.4, "Abusive Sexual Contact or Attempt to Commit Abusive Sexual Contact." The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022.

Of the 48, 44 (92%) received a prison term and 3 (6%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. The median prison term was 21 months.

A quarter of those sent to prison received 63 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less. That wide spread means the median describes the middle of a broad range.

## Compared With All Federal Cases That Year

For every guideline in fiscal year 2022, 64,142 people were sentenced. Their median prison term was 30 months, which was higher than the 21 months under §2A3.4.

Guilty pleas were 97% of all federal cases and 92% of the §2A3.4 group. Sentences within the guideline range were 42% of all federal cases, compared with 60% of the §2A3.4 group.

The Commission's offense type for these 48 cases was Sexual Abuse.

## Position Against the Guideline Range

The guideline range is the sentencing range the court calculates before sentencing. A sentence within the range was imposed in 29 cases (60%).

A sentence below the range at the government's request was imposed in 9 cases (19%). A sentence below the range without such a request was imposed in 6 cases (13%), and a sentence above the range in 4 cases (8%).

In fiscal year 2021, 42% of sentences under this guideline were within the range. In fiscal year 2023, 50% were.

## Guilty Pleas and Trials

A total of 44 of 48 people (92%) pleaded guilty, and 4 were convicted after a trial. Among the guilty pleas, 93% had a written plea agreement and 7% were straight pleas.

The median prison term after a guilty plea was 22.9 months. After a trial, the median was 13.5 months, based on 4 people sent to prison. That count cannot show how trial sentences differ from plea sentences in general.

A mandatory minimum applied to 1 of the 47 people with that information recorded (2%).

## Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution

Supervised release was ordered for 45 people (94%), with a median term of 60 months. Supervised release for life went to 6 people (13%).

A fine was ordered for 4 people (8%). Restitution was ordered for 9 (19%).

## Criminal History

Criminal history category I, the lowest, applied to 77% of the group, and category VI, the highest, applied to 0%. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so there is no matching court-martial measure.

## Earlier and Later Years

Across fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 378 people were sentenced under §2A3.4\. Of these, 93% went to prison, the median prison term was 24 months, 91% pleaded guilty, and 50% received a sentence within the range.

In fiscal year 2021, 26 people were sentenced under this guideline with a median prison term of 36 months. In fiscal year 2023, 46 were sentenced with a median of 24 months. The table lists every fiscal year.

The approved crosswalk pairs this guideline with Article 120 of the UCMJ.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 34               | 30 months     | 91%            |
| 2017        | 38               | 27 months     | 97%            |
| 2018        | 41               | 24 months     | 98%            |
| 2019        | 44               | 18 months     | 93%            |
| 2020        | 25               | 40.5 months   | 88%            |
| 2021        | 26               | 36 months     | 81%            |
| 2022        | 48               | 21 months     | 92%            |
| 2023        | 46               | 24 months     | 91%            |
| 2024        | 39               | 24 months     | 82%            |
| 2025        | 37               | 36 months     | 89%            |

## What the Data Cannot Show

The data counts only convicted and sentenced people, and it does not describe the facts of any case. A high count in one year does not show whether more cases were brought or whether the mix of cases changed.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2022 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2A3.4 (48), 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)
- [§2A3.4 Abusive Sexual Contact or Attempt to Commit Abusive Sexual Contact: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a3-4-abusive-sexual-contact-or-attempt-to-commit/) (overview)
- [§2A3.4 Abusive Sexual Contact or Attempt to Commit Abusive Sexual Contact: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a3-4-abusive-sexual-contact-or-attempt-to-commit-fy2021/) (previous or next fiscal year)
- [§2A3.4 Abusive Sexual Contact or Attempt to Commit Abusive Sexual Contact: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a3-4-abusive-sexual-contact-or-attempt-to-commit-fy2023/) (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.