§2G3.1 Importing, Mailing, or Transporting Obscene Matter: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025
Of 284 people sentenced under §2G3.1 in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 254 (89%) received prison. The median prison term was 28.9 months (2.4 years). Sentences above the guideline range numbered 94 of 284 (33%).
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In brief: Of 284 people sentenced under §2G3.1 in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 254 (89%) received prison. The median prison term was 28.9 months (2.4 years). Sentences above the guideline range numbered 94 of 284 (33%).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 284 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 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.
Many Sentences Were Above the Range
Above the guideline range were 94 of the 284 sentences (33%). Within the range were 109 (38%). Below the range at the government's request were 26 (9%), and below the range without a request were 55 (19%).
The above-range group is the second largest after sentences within the range. The records show the count but not how far above the range any sentence was.
What §2G3.1 Covers
The Manual's title is "Importing, Mailing, or Transporting Obscene Matter," and the full section also names transferring obscene matter to a minor and misleading domain names. The Sentencing Commission files the cases as Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses.
A case is counted here when §2G3.1 was the primary guideline. Only convicted and sentenced people appear.
Prison Terms
The median prison term was 28.9 months among the 254 people sent to prison. A quarter received 60 months or more, and a quarter received 18 months or less. Probation only went to 25 people (9%).
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 6 people (2%). The terms are those imposed, not time served.
Almost Everyone Pleaded Guilty
Guilty pleas were entered by 282 of 284 people, which is more than 99%, and 2 were convicted after a trial. Of those who pleaded guilty, 90% had a written plea agreement and 10% did not.
The median prison term was 27.4 months after a guilty plea and 47 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 2 people, so it cannot support a comparison.
Supervised Release and Other Orders
Supervised release was ordered for 252 people (89%), with a median term of 36 months. 2 people (less than 1%) received it for life. A fine was ordered for 39 people (14%), and restitution for 11 (4%).
On criminal history, 77% were in the lowest criminal history category I, and 2% were in the highest, VI.
Medians by Year
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 98 people and a median prison term of 27 months. Fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 186 people and a median of 33 months.
The yearly table shows medians near 25 months through 2020, then 33 months in 2021 and 46 months in 2022. The median was 26.5 months in 2023, 46 months in 2024, and 27 months in 2025. The number sentenced was 21 in 2020 and 41 in 2023. Guilty pleas were 100% in every year except 2016 (96%) and 2023 (98%). The records do not give reasons for the year-to-year changes.
| 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% |
Limits of the Data
The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so no military figures are given. The Sentencing Commission data has no acquittals or dismissals.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2G3.1 (284), from the U.S. Sentencing Commission's 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)
- §2G1.3 Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with a Minor: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- §2G1.1 Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with an Individual Other than a Minor: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- §2G2.6 Child Exploitation Enterprises: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- 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.