§2G3.1 Importing, Mailing, or Transporting Obscene Matter: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2022
The median prison term under guideline §2G3.1 was 46 months in fiscal year 2022, which is higher than the 28.9 months across fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 33 people, and 29 (88%) went to prison. Sentences above the guideline range were the most common position, at
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In brief: The median prison term under guideline §2G3.1 was 46 months in fiscal year 2022, which is higher than the 28.9 months across fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 33 people, and 29 (88%) went to prison. Sentences above the guideline range were the most common position, at 39% (13 people).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 33 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2022. 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 Median of 46 Months for 29 People
In fiscal year 2022, 29 of the 33 people sentenced under §2G3.1 received a prison term. That is 88%. The median prison term was 46 months, or 3.8 years.
A quarter of those sent to prison received 65 months or more, and a quarter received 24 months or less. The terms are the sentences imposed, not the time a person actually served.
The other 4 people (12%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.
What the Guideline Covers
The Sentencing Guidelines Manual titles §2G3.1 "Importing, Mailing, or Transporting Obscene Matter; Transferring Obscene Matter to a Minor; Misleading Domain Names." A case is counted under it when it was the primary guideline, meaning the one that set the offense level for the most serious count.
The Commission's offense type for these 33 cases is Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses. Fiscal year 2022 ran from October 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022.
Sentences Above the Guideline Range
For all 33 people, the Commission recorded where the sentence fell against the guideline range. Above the range was the largest group, with 13 people (39%). Within the range were 8 people (24%).
Below the range, 7 sentences (21%) were without a government request, and 5 (15%) were at the government's request.
Across all fiscal years 2016 to 2025 under this guideline, 38% of sentences were within the range. In fiscal year 2022 for every guideline, 42% were within the range. Within-range sentences were therefore less common here than in either group.
Pleas and Mandatory Minimums
Of the 33 people, 33 (100%) pleaded guilty, and 0 were convicted after a trial. Written plea agreements covered 85% of the guilty pleas, and 15% were straight pleas with no agreement.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 4 of the 33 people (12%). The Commission's data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are not included.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 29 people (88%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 3 people (9%), and restitution was ordered for 1 (3%).
In criminal history, 79% were in the lowest category, Category I, and 3% were in the highest, Category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Neighboring Fiscal Years
In fiscal year 2021, 37 people were sentenced under §2G3.1, the median prison term was 33 months, and 38% of sentences were within the range. In fiscal year 2023, 41 people were sentenced, the median prison term was 26.5 months, and 44% were within the range.
All fiscal years 2016 to 2025 together include 284 people, 89% sent to prison, and more than 99% guilty pleas. The 33 people in fiscal year 2022 are a small count, and one year is not a trend. The yearly table below shows the median prison term for each fiscal year.
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2022, under every guideline, totaled 64,142 people. Their median prison term was 30 months, and 97% pleaded guilty.
| 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% |
What Cannot Be Read From These Numbers
The records do not show the facts behind any sentence or the reason for a sentence above or below the range. A median can also move when only a few cases change.
There is no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline in the approved crosswalk, so this post reports the federal numbers on their own.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2022 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2G3.1 (33), 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)
- §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 2021 (previous or next fiscal year)
- §2G3.1 Importing, Mailing, or Transporting Obscene Matter: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023 (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.