§2A6.2 Stalking or Domestic Violence: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025
Of 656 people sentenced in federal court under guideline §2A6.2, Stalking or Domestic Violence, in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 619 (94%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 35 months (2.9 years), and 13% of sentences were above the guideline range.
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In brief: Of 656 people sentenced in federal court under guideline §2A6.2, Stalking or Domestic Violence, in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 619 (94%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 35 months (2.9 years), and 13% of sentences were above the guideline range.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 656 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 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 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.
Prison Was the Usual Sentence
Guideline §2A6.2 is titled "Stalking or Domestic Violence" in the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual. The U.S. Sentencing Commission classifies all 656 people in this group as Stalking/Harassing cases.
Prison was ordered for 619 people (94%). Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, was ordered for 29 (4%).
How Long Were the Prison Terms?
The median prison term was 35 months. A quarter of those sent to prison received 50 months or more, and a quarter received 24 months or less.
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 617 people (94%), and the median term was 36 months. Terms of prison are those imposed, not time served.
Guilty Pleas and Trials
Most people pleaded guilty: 605 of 656 (92%). A total of 51 were convicted after a trial.
After a guilty plea the median prison term was 33 months. After a trial it was 52 months, based on 49 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. Among the guilty pleas, 90% had a written plea agreement and 10% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Sentences Compared With the Guideline Range
For 655 cases the records show where the sentence fell against the guideline range. In 274 (42%) it was within the range.
Below the range at the government's request: 159 (24%). Below the range without that request: 138 (21%). Above the range: 84 (13%).
Sentences above the range were thus a noticeable part of this group. The records show only which side of the range a sentence fell on, not by how much.
Mandatory Minimums, Fines, and Restitution
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 57 people (9%).
A fine was ordered for 51 (8%), and restitution for 157 (24%). In criminal history, 53% were in the lowest category and 7% in the highest.
Yearly Changes
In fiscal years 2016 to 2019, 222 people were sentenced and the median prison term was 33 months. In fiscal years 2020 to 2025, 434 people were sentenced and the median was 36 months.
The number sentenced each year rose from 36 in 2016 to 90 in 2025. The yearly median ranged from 24 months in 2016 to 38.5 months in 2018. The share who pleaded guilty was between 88% and 98% in every year. The yearly figures are small groups, and the records do not show the reasons for the changes.
| 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 Is Not in the Records
Acquittals and dismissals are not in this data, since it counts only people who were convicted and sentenced.
The crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so the post reports federal numbers alone. Court-martial records also have no criminal history field.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2A6.2 (656), from the U.S. Sentencing Commission's 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)
- §2A3.5 Failure to Register as a Sex Offender: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- §2A1.1 First Degree Murder: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- §2A2.4 Obstructing or Impeding Officers: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- §2A6.1 Threatening or Harassing Communications: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- §2A2.1 Assault with Intent to Commit Murder: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- 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.