§2G1.1 Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with an Individual Other than a Minor: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021
In fiscal year 2021, 58 people were sentenced under §2G1.1, and 95% pleaded guilty. The median prison term was 30 months (2.5 years). Sentences below the guideline range without a government request were 31% of the group, and 40% were within the range.
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In brief: In fiscal year 2021, 58 people were sentenced under §2G1.1, and 95% pleaded guilty. The median prison term was 30 months (2.5 years). Sentences below the guideline range without a government request were 31% of the group, and 40% were within the range.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 58 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2021. 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.
Below-Range Sentences Without a Government Request
Of the 58 people with range information, 31% (18) were sentenced below the guideline range without a government request. Below the range at the government's request were 22% (13). Within the range were 40% (23), and above the range were 7% (4).
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 10 of the 58 people with that information recorded (17%).
Prison Terms and the Life Sentence
In fiscal year 2021, the Sentencing Commission recorded 58 people whose most serious count was sentenced under §2G1.1. The Guidelines Manual gives the title "Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with an Individual Other than a Minor."
Prison was the sentence for 55 people (95%). Probation alone was the sentence for 1 (2%). Those sent to prison had a median term of 30 months, with 145.5 months or more for the top quarter and 15 months or less for the bottom quarter. One person received a life sentence.
Supervised release followed for 52 people (90%), with a median of 60 months. 1 person (2%) was ordered to serve it for life.
Guilty Pleas and Trial Terms
A total of 55 of the 58 people (95%) pleaded guilty, and 3 were convicted after a trial. Among guilty pleas, 95% had a written plea agreement and 5% were straight pleas.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 25.5 months. After a trial it was 300 months. The trial figure is based on 3 people, so it is a very small group.
Fines, Restitution, and Criminal History
A fine was ordered for 8 people (14%), and restitution for 12 (21%).
In criminal history, 43% were in the lowest category (Category I) and 16% were in the highest (Category VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Offense Types and Comparisons
By offense type, the Commission classed 38 of the 58 people as Commercialized Vice and 20 as Sexual Abuse.
The all-years total for this guideline, fiscal years 2016 to 2025, is 612 people. Their median prison term was 33 months, 92% pleaded guilty, and 41% were within the range. The 2021 median was lower than that.
The neighboring years differ in size. There were 38 people in fiscal year 2020, with a median of 27 months. There were 68 in fiscal year 2022, with a median of 79 months, which was higher.
Across all guidelines in fiscal year 2021, the Commission recorded 57,287 sentenced people. Their median was 29 months, 98% pleaded guilty, and 43% were within the range. The fiscal year began October 1, 2020 and ended September 30, 2021.
| 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 the Records Cannot Show
The Commission data includes only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it, and prison terms are those imposed rather than time served.
The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so this post reports the federal numbers on their own. The records do not explain why the below-range share changed from year to year.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2021 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2G1.1 (58), 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 2020 (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 2022 (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.