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# §2G1.3 Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with a Minor: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2g1-3-promoting-a-commercial-sex-act-or-prohibited-fy2018/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:06:42.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:06:42.000Z
- Description: In fiscal year 2018, 408 people were sentenced in federal court with §2G1.3 as the primary guideline. Of those, 401 (98%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 120 months (10 years). The 43 people convicted after a trial had a median prison term of 292 months, compared with 120 mont
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [§2G1.3 Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual C](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2g1-3-promoting-a-commercial-sex-act-or-prohibited/) › §2G1.3: FY2018

**In brief:** In fiscal year 2018, 408 people were sentenced in federal court with §2G1.3 as the primary guideline. Of those, 401 (98%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 120 months (10 years). The 43 people convicted after a trial had a median prison term of 292 months, compared with 120 months for those who pleaded guilty.

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 408 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](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/).

## What Guideline §2G1.3 Covers

The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual titles §2G1.3 "Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with a Minor; Transportation of Minors to Engage in a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct; Travel to Engage in Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with a Minor; Sex Trafficking of Children; Use of Interstate Facilities to Transport Information about a Minor."

The U.S. Sentencing Commission places all 408 of these fiscal year 2018 cases in its Sexual Abuse offense type. A case is counted here when §2G1.3 was the primary guideline, which is the guideline that set the offense level for the most serious count.

Fiscal year 2018 ran from October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2018\. The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are not in these numbers.

## Prison Terms in Fiscal Year 2018

Of the 408 people sentenced, 401 (98%) received a prison term. Another 6 (1%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.

The median prison term was 120 months. A quarter of those sent to prison received 182 months or more, and a quarter received 72 months or less. 8 people received a life sentence.

Prison terms in this data are the terms imposed by the court, not the time actually served. After prison, 401 people (98%) were ordered to serve supervised release. The median supervised release term was 120 months, and 54 people (13%) received supervised release for life.

## Guilty Pleas Compared With Trials

A total of 365 of the 408 people (89%) pleaded guilty, and 43 were convicted after a trial. Among those who pleaded guilty, 91% had a written plea agreement, and 9% were straight pleas with no agreement.

The median prison term after a guilty plea was 120 months. After a trial it was 292 months, based on the 43 people convicted at trial and sent to prison.

These groups are not the same kind of case, and the records cannot show whether the trial itself, the facts of each case, or the charges explain the difference in prison terms.

## Mandatory Minimums and the Guideline Range

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 258 of the 407 people with that information recorded (63%).

The Commission also records where each sentence fell against the guideline range. For all 408 people, 46% (189) were sentenced within the range. Another 27% (112) were sentenced below the range at the government's request, and 23% (94) were sentenced below the range without a government request. A sentence above the range was imposed on 3% (13).

## Fines, Restitution, and Criminal History

A fine was ordered for 19 people (5%), and restitution was ordered for 97 (24%).

On criminal history, 59% of the people sentenced were in the lowest criminal history category (category I), and 5% were in the highest (category VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so this measure has no military counterpart.

## Fiscal Year 2018 Alongside Other Years

Across fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 3,908 people were sentenced under §2G1.3\. More than 99% were sent to prison, the median prison term was 120 months, 88% pleaded guilty, and 46% were sentenced within the guideline range. Fiscal year 2018 is about the same as those all-years figures.

In fiscal year 2017, 403 people were sentenced under this guideline, with a median prison term of 120 months and 44% within the range. In fiscal year 2019, the count was 375, the median was 120 months, and 46% were within the range. The table below lists every year.

For comparison, 69,425 people were sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2018 under all guidelines. Their median prison term was 24 months, 97% pleaded guilty, and 51% were sentenced within the guideline range.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 418              | 120 months    | 86%            |
| 2017        | 403              | 120 months    | 90%            |
| 2018        | 408              | 120 months    | 89%            |
| 2019        | 375              | 120 months    | 88%            |
| 2020        | 305              | 120 months    | 88%            |
| 2021        | 336              | 120 months    | 88%            |
| 2022        | 475              | 120 months    | 86%            |
| 2023        | 415              | 120 months    | 84%            |
| 2024        | 406              | 121 months    | 86%            |
| 2025        | 367              | 121 months    | 91%            |

## What the Records Cannot Show

This guideline is paired with Article 120b of the UCMJ in the comparison posts on this site. This post reports the federal numbers on their own.

The Commission's files do not show the facts of any case, and they do not show why a prison term was longer or shorter. They also do not include people who were not convicted.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2018 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2G1.3 (408), 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)
- [§2G1.3 Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with a Minor: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2g1-3-promoting-a-commercial-sex-act-or-prohibited/) (overview)
- [§2G1.3 Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with a Minor: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2g1-3-promoting-a-commercial-sex-act-or-prohibited-fy2019/) (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? Child Sexual Abuse Charges at Army Courts-Martial, 2021–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-120b-trend-2021-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [How Much Confinement for an Article 120b Conviction in the Army?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-120b-sent-2021-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [How Often Are Contested Army Article 120b Cases Acquitted?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-120b-acq-2021-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [Pleading Guilty to Article 120b in the Army: What Sentences Followed?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-120b-plea-2021-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [How Has Article 120b Changed in Air Force Courts-Martial Since 2016?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-120b-trend-2016-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [How Much Confinement for an Article 120b Conviction in the Air Force?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-120b-sent-2016-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [Guilty Pleas in Air Force Child Sexual Abuse Cases: How Often, and What Came Next](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-120b-plea-2016-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [Fewer or More? Child Sexual Abuse Charges at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2017–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-120b-trend-2017-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [What Sentence Follows a Navy-Marine Corps Child Sexual Abuse Conviction?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-120b-sent-2017-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [Fighting a Navy-Marine Corps Child Sexual Abuse Charge: How Contested Cases Ended](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-120b-acq-2017-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Child Sexual Abuse Cases: How Often, and What Came Next](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-120b-plea-2017-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [Article 120b (Rape and Sexual Assault of a Child): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-120b-courts-martial/) (court-martial data)
- [Article 120b UCMJ: Rape and Sexual Assault of a Child](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-120b/?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.