> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # §2G3.1 Importing, Mailing, or Transporting Obscene Matter: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2024 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2g3-1-importing-mailing-or-transporting-obscene-matter-fy2024/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:30:19.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:30:19.000Z - Description: All 26 people sentenced under guideline §2G3.1 in fiscal year 2024 received a prison term, and none received probation only. The median prison term was 46 months. The sentences above the guideline range numbered 13 (50%), more than any other position. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [§2G3.1 Importing, Mailing, or Transporting Obscene Matter](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2g3-1-importing-mailing-or-transporting-obscene-matter/) › §2G3.1: FY2024 **In brief:** All 26 people sentenced under guideline §2G3.1 in fiscal year 2024 received a prison term, and none received probation only. The median prison term was 46 months. The sentences above the guideline range numbered 13 (50%), more than any other position. 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 26 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2024\. 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/). ## Every Sentenced Person Went to Prison The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 26 people sentenced in fiscal year 2024 with §2G3.1 as the primary guideline. All 26 (100%) received a prison term. None (0%) received probation only. For all fiscal years 2016 to 2025 under this guideline, 89% were sent to prison. Fiscal year 2024 was higher on that measure, but 26 people is a small count and one year is not a trend. The median prison term was 46 months, or 3.8 years. A quarter received 60 months or more, and a quarter received 18.8 months or less. ## Sentences Above the Guideline Range The guideline range is the range the court calculates under the Sentencing Guidelines. In fiscal year 2024, 13 of the 26 sentences (50%) were above it, the largest group. Within the range were 8 sentences (31%). Below the range, 5 sentences (19%) were at the government's request. None (0%) were below the range without a government request. For all fiscal years 2016 to 2025 under this guideline, 38% of sentences were within the range. For everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2024, under every guideline, 46% were within the range. ## Guilty Pleas, Agreements, and Mandatory Minimums All 26 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and 0 were convicted after a trial. Of the guilty pleas, 92% had a written plea agreement, and 8% were straight pleas with no agreement. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 26 people (0%). The Commission's data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced. It does not include acquittals or dismissals. ## Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History All 26 people (100%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. One person (4%) received supervised release for life. A fine was ordered for 6 people (23%), and restitution was ordered for 1 (4%). In criminal history, 69% were in the lowest category, Category I, and 12% were in the highest, Category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. ## The Guideline and the Fiscal Year The Sentencing Guidelines Manual titles §2G3.1 "Importing, Mailing, or Transporting Obscene Matter; Transferring Obscene Matter to a Minor; Misleading Domain Names." The Commission files these cases under the offense type Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses. Fiscal year 2024 ran from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024\. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. ## Other Years Under §2G3.1 In fiscal year 2023, 41 people were sentenced, the median prison term was 26.5 months, and 44% of sentences were within the range. In fiscal year 2025, 28 people were sentenced, the median prison term was 27 months, and 29% were within the range. Across fiscal years 2016 to 2025, the Commission counted 284 people under this guideline. Of them, 89% went to prison, and the median prison term was 28.9 months. Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2024 totaled 61,678 people, with a median prison term of 30 months. The 46 months for §2G3.1 in fiscal year 2024 is higher than both of those medians. | 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 the Records Do Not Explain The numbers do not show what any case involved or why a court chose a sentence above the range. They also cannot show whether the pattern in fiscal year 2024 will continue. 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 2024 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2G3.1 (26), 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](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) - [§2G3.1 Importing, Mailing, or Transporting Obscene Matter: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2g3-1-importing-mailing-or-transporting-obscene-matter/) (overview) - [§2G3.1 Importing, Mailing, or Transporting Obscene Matter: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2g3-1-importing-mailing-or-transporting-obscene-matter-fy2023/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [§2G3.1 Importing, Mailing, or Transporting Obscene Matter: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2g3-1-importing-mailing-or-transporting-obscene-matter-fy2025/) (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/) - [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.