§2G3.1 Importing, Mailing, or Transporting Obscene Matter: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019
Of the 25 people sentenced under guideline §2G3.1 in fiscal year 2019, 20 (80%) were sent to prison with a median of 25.5 months (2.1 years). A quarter of those sent to prison received 51 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less.
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In brief: Of the 25 people sentenced under guideline §2G3.1 in fiscal year 2019, 20 (80%) were sent to prison with a median of 25.5 months (2.1 years). A quarter of those sent to prison received 51 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 25 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2019. 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.
A Wide Range of Prison Terms
The U.S. Sentencing Commission recorded 25 people in fiscal year 2019 whose primary guideline was §2G3.1, "Importing, Mailing, or Transporting Obscene Matter." A prison term was imposed on 20 of them (80%), and probation only on 2 (8%).
The median prison term was 25.5 months. A quarter received 51 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less. The middle value therefore hides large differences between individual sentences.
The median was 27 months in 2018 and 24 months in 2020. Across all years for this guideline it was 28.9 months. The table lists every year.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 25 | 26 months | 96% |
| 2017 | 26 | 25.5 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 22 | 27 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 25 | 25.5 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 21 | 24 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 37 | 33 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 33 | 46 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 41 | 26.5 months | 98% |
| 2024 | 26 | 46 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 28 | 27 months | 100% |
Below-Range Sentences Were the Most Common Result
For 8 people (32%), the sentence was within the guideline range. For 9 (36%), it was below the range without a government request, and for 6 (24%), it was above the range. For 2 (8%), it was below the range at the government's request.
The within-range share was 55% in 2018 and 43% in 2020. Across all years for this guideline it was 38%, and across all federal cases in 2019 it was 51%.
All Guilty Pleas
All 25 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. Written plea agreements were recorded for 96% of the pleas, and 4% had no agreement.
No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 25 people.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 20 people (80%), and the median term was 36 months. A fine was ordered for 1 person (4%), and restitution for 2 (8%). Restitution is payment to make up for a loss, and a fine is payment to the government.
Criminal History
A total of 84% of the group was in criminal history category I, the lowest, and 0% was in category VI, the highest. Court-martial files do not record criminal history in the same way.
Comparison With All Federal Cases in 2019
Across every guideline, 76,538 people were sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2019. Their median prison term was 21 months, and 98% pleaded guilty. The median under §2G3.1 was higher than that overall median.
The Commission classes these 25 cases as Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses. Over fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 284 people were sentenced under this guideline, and 89% were sent to prison.
Limits
Fiscal year 2019 ran from October 1, 2018 to September 30, 2019. The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Prison terms are those imposed, not time served.
The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so this post reports the federal numbers on their own. With 25 people, a single year does not show a trend.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2019 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2G3.1 (25), 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.
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)
- §2G3.1 Importing, Mailing, or Transporting Obscene Matter: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- §2G3.1 Importing, Mailing, or Transporting Obscene Matter: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018 (previous or next fiscal year)
- §2G3.1 Importing, Mailing, or Transporting Obscene Matter: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020 (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.