> ## 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. # §2A6.2 Stalking or Domestic Violence: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a6-2-stalking-or-domestic-violence-fy2025/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:27:20.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:27:20.000Z - Description: 90 people were sentenced under §2A6.2 in fiscal year 2025, the highest count in the table for fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 80 (89%) received a prison term, 7 (8%) received probation only, and the median prison term was 35.5 months (3 years). - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [§2A6.2 Stalking or Domestic Violence](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a6-2-stalking-or-domestic-violence/) › §2A6.2: FY2025 **In brief:** 90 people were sentenced under §2A6.2 in fiscal year 2025, the highest count in the table for fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. 80 (89%) received a prison term, 7 (8%) received probation only, and the median prison term was 35.5 months (3 years). 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 90 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/). ## The Largest Count in the Table The Commission counted 90 people with §2A6.2 as the primary guideline in fiscal year 2025\. In fiscal year 2024 the count was 73\. The table shows every year, and 90 is the highest figure in it. Across fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 656 people were sentenced under this guideline. For all guidelines in fiscal year 2025, the count was 66,662. ## Prison, Probation, and Median Terms 80 of the 90 people (89%) received a prison term. 7 (8%) received probation only. The median prison term was 35.5 months. A quarter received 51.8 months or more, and a quarter received 24 months or less. For all guidelines in fiscal year 2025, the median was 24 months. For this guideline over fiscal years 2016 to 2025, it was 35 months. The year before, it was 38 months. ## Trial Convictions 80 people (89%) pleaded guilty, and 10 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 35 months after a guilty plea and 37 months after a trial, based on 9 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. The 2 medians are close in this year. Of the guilty pleas, 89% had a written plea agreement and 11% were straight pleas. ## The Guideline Range in Fiscal Year 2025 34 sentences (38%) were within the range. 24 (27%) were below the range at the government's request, and 18 (20%) were below it without a government request. 14 sentences (16%) were above the range. For all guidelines in fiscal year 2025, 51% of sentences were within the range. For §2A6.2 in fiscal year 2024, the share was 38%. ## Mandatory Minimums and Other Orders A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 13 of the 90 people with that information recorded (14%). 80 people (89%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 4 people (4%), and restitution for 24 (27%). In criminal history, 63% were in category I, the lowest, and 7% were in category VI, the highest. ## Definitions The Sentencing Guidelines Manual titles §2A6.2 "Stalking or Domestic Violence," and the Commission lists these cases under the offense type Stalking/Harassing. Fiscal year 2025 ran from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025. A case is counted here when §2A6.2 set the offense level for its most serious count. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 36 | 24 months | 92% | | 2017 | 43 | 37 months | 88% | | 2018 | 63 | 38.5 months | 92% | | 2019 | 80 | 33 months | 98% | | 2020 | 63 | 33 months | 92% | | 2021 | 55 | 31 months | 96% | | 2022 | 79 | 33 months | 91% | | 2023 | 74 | 34 months | 92% | | 2024 | 73 | 38 months | 92% | | 2025 | 90 | 35.5 months | 89% | ## What the Records Cannot Show A median is the middle value when prison terms are listed from shortest to longest, and prison terms are those imposed, not time served. Other counts in a case are not described, because only the primary guideline is recorded. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the Commission's data. The records also do not show why the count is larger in fiscal year 2025 than in earlier years. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so only federal numbers are reported. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2025 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2A6.2 (90), 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) - [§2A6.2 Stalking or Domestic Violence: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a6-2-stalking-or-domestic-violence/) (overview) - [§2A6.2 Stalking or Domestic Violence: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2024](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a6-2-stalking-or-domestic-violence-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/) - [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.