§2G1.1 Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with an Individual Other than a Minor: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018
In fiscal year 2018, 80 people were sentenced under §2G1.1. Of these, 74 (93%) received a prison term and 6 (8%) received probation only. The median prison term was 27 months (2.2 years), and 89% pleaded guilty.
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In brief: In fiscal year 2018, 80 people were sentenced under §2G1.1. Of these, 74 (93%) received a prison term and 6 (8%) received probation only. The median prison term was 27 months (2.2 years), and 89% pleaded guilty.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 80 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2018. 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.
Probation Only and Prison in Fiscal Year 2018
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 80 people in fiscal year 2018 whose primary guideline was §2G1.1, titled "Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with an Individual Other than a Minor" in the Guidelines Manual.
A total of 74 (93%) were sent to prison, and 6 (8%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Across all fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 94% of the people under this guideline were sent to prison.
The median prison term was 27 months. A quarter received 78 months or more, and a quarter received 15 months or less.
Trials in Fiscal Year 2018
A total of 71 of the 80 people (89%) pleaded guilty, and 9 were convicted after a trial. The trial group was larger than in fiscal year 2017, which had 72 people, with the guilty plea share at 93%.
The median prison term was 27 months after a guilty plea. After a trial it was 253.5 months, based on 8 people who were convicted at trial and sent to prison.
Among guilty pleas, 92% had a written plea agreement, and 8% were straight pleas.
Where the Sentences Fell Against the Range
Within the guideline range were 44% (35) of the 80 people. Below the range at the government's request were 25% (20), and below it without a government request were 19% (15). Above the range were 13% (10).
The fiscal year 2019 share within the range, 34%, was lower than the 44% in fiscal year 2018. The fiscal year 2017 share was 51%.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 11 of the 80 people with that information recorded (14%).
Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution
After prison, 68 people (85%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months. Supervised release for life was given to 5 people (6%).
A fine was ordered for 7 people (9%), and restitution for 9 (11%). In criminal history, 43% were in the lowest category (Category I) and 11% in the highest (Category VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Offense Types and All-Case Comparisons
The Commission's offense types for these 80 people were Commercialized Vice for 66 and Sexual Abuse for 14.
For all fiscal years 2016 to 2025, the guideline covers 612 people, with a median prison term of 33 months, 92% guilty pleas, and 41% within the range. The 2018 median was lower than the all-years median.
Among everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2018, 69,425 people, the median prison term was 24 months, 97% pleaded guilty, and 51% were within the range. The year ran from October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2018. The table shows each year for this guideline.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 70 | 24 months | 96% |
| 2017 | 72 | 27 months | 93% |
| 2018 | 80 | 27 months | 89% |
| 2019 | 82 | 27 months | 94% |
| 2020 | 38 | 27 months | 89% |
| 2021 | 58 | 30 months | 95% |
| 2022 | 68 | 79 months | 90% |
| 2023 | 46 | 84 months | 93% |
| 2024 | 56 | 60 months | 89% |
| 2025 | 42 | 75 months | 88% |
What Is Missing
The data has no acquittals or dismissals. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so this post reports federal numbers on their own. One year is not a trend.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2018 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2G1.1 (80), 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)
- §2G1.1 Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with an Individual Other than a Minor: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- §2G1.1 Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with an Individual Other than a Minor: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2017 (previous or next fiscal year)
- §2G1.1 Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with an Individual Other than a Minor: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019 (previous or next fiscal year)
- How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range
- Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress
- 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.