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# Federal Individual Rights Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of New York, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-individual-rights-sentences-eastern-district-of-new-york/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:00:09.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:00:09.000Z
- Description: In the Eastern District of New York, 13 people were sentenced for individual rights offenses in fiscal years 2018 to 2025. Of them, 10 (77%) received a prison term, with a median of 30 months (2.5 years). The all-district median for this offense type was also 30 months. The group is small.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of New York, FY201](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-new-york/) › Individual Rights Offense: Eastern District of New York

**In brief:** In the Eastern District of New York, 13 people were sentenced for individual rights offenses in fiscal years 2018 to 2025\. Of them, 10 (77%) received a prison term, with a median of 30 months (2.5 years). The all-district median for this offense type was also 30 months. The group is small.

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 13 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](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/).

## A Small Group With a Wide Range of Terms

The 13 people sentenced for individual rights offenses had a median prison term of 30 months (2.5 years) among the 10 sent to prison. A quarter received 108 months or more, and a quarter received 8.3 months or less.

That range is wide, and the group is small. A median based on 10 people can change a lot with a single case.

For all offenses in the district, the median was 27 months. In all 94 districts, 68% of people sentenced for this offense type were sent to prison.

## Trial Convictions and Guilty Pleas

Of the 13 people, 9 (69%) pleaded guilty, and 4 were convicted after a trial. Across all districts, 80% pleaded guilty. For all offenses in the district, the figure was 95%.

The median prison term after a guilty plea was 18 months. After a trial it was 155 months, based on 4 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. The records do not show how the cases differed.

Among the 9 guilty pleas, 7 had a written plea agreement, and 2 were straight pleas with no agreement.

## What Individual Rights Covers

"Individual Rights" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type, and it groups several guidelines. The most common primary guideline was §2H4.1 (Peonage, Involuntary Servitude, and Slave Trade), used for 5 people.

Next were §2H1.1 (Offenses Involving Individual Rights), used for 3 people, §2H3.1 (Interception of Communications) for 2, and §2H2.1 (Obstructing an Election or Registration) for 2.

These cases were less than 1% of the 6,411 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.

## Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums

The sentence was within the guideline range for 6 people (46%). It was below the range at the government's request for 5 (38%) and below it without a request for 2 (15%). No sentence was above the range.

Across all districts, 38% of sentences for this offense type were within the range. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 13 people.

## Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History

Supervised release was ordered for 8 people (62%), with a median term of 48 months. A fine was ordered for 6 (46%), and restitution for 4 (31%).

All 13 people (100%) were in the lowest criminal history category (Category I), and 0% were in the highest (Category VI).

## Yearly Counts

Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 have 2 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 have 11 people. No year has more than 2 people.

Yearly medians run from 0 months in fiscal year 2025 to 300 months in fiscal year 2019\. With 1 or 2 people in each year, the table does not show a trend. The federal fiscal year runs from October 1 through the end of September.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2018        | 1                | 12 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2019        | 1                | 300 months    | 0 of 1         |
| 2020        | 2                | 107 months    | 1 of 2         |
| 2021        | 2                | 36 months     | 2 of 2         |
| 2022        | 2                | 120 months    | 1 of 2         |
| 2023        | 2                | 36 months     | 2 of 2         |
| 2024        | 1                | 7 months      | 0 of 1         |
| 2025        | 2                | 0 months      | 2 of 2         |

## Limits of the Records

The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not included, and prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.

The records give no case details.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of New York (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New York East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Individual Rights" (13). Offense types are the Commission's OFFGUIDE categories.

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)
- [Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of New York, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-new-york/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of New York, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-eastern-district-of-new-york/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of New York, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-eastern-district-of-new-york/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of New York, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-eastern-district-of-new-york/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of New York, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-eastern-district-of-new-york/) (same district, other offense type)
- [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.