Federal Kidnapping Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025
All 17 people sentenced for kidnapping in the District of New Jersey in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 144 months (12 years), which is lower than the 155 months for this offense type in all 94 districts. Federal prison terms for kidnapping are long in both sets of n
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025 › Kidnapping: District of New Jersey
In brief: All 17 people sentenced for kidnapping in the District of New Jersey in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 144 months (12 years), which is lower than the 155 months for this offense type in all 94 districts. Federal prison terms for kidnapping are long in both sets of numbers.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 17 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.
Every Kidnapping Sentence Included Prison
The U.S. Sentencing Commission uses the offense type "Kidnapping" for cases in which the main guideline concerns abduction or unlawful restraint. In the District of New Jersey, 17 people were sentenced in this category from fiscal year 2016 to fiscal year 2025. That is less than 1% of the 6,441 people sentenced in the district.
17 of the 17 (100%) received a prison term, and none received probation only. For all 94 districts, more than 99% of the 1,124 people in this category were sent to prison.
How Long Were the Prison Terms?
The median prison term was 144 months (12 years). A quarter received 180 months or more, and a quarter received 84 months or less. The median is the middle value when terms are ordered from shortest to longest.
The all-districts median for kidnapping was 155 months. The median for all offenses in the District of New Jersey was 37 months. Kidnapping terms here were therefore much longer than the district's typical term, and a little shorter than the all-districts kidnapping term.
Supervised release followed prison for all 17 people. The median supervised release term was 60 months.
Trials and Guilty Pleas
13 of 17 people (76%) pleaded guilty, and 4 were convicted after a trial. Guilty pleas were less common here than for all offenses in the district (97%) and less common than for all districts in this category (84%).
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 150 months. After a trial it was 108 months. The trial figure rests on only 4 people, so it should not be read as a pattern. Among the guilty pleas, 92% had a written plea agreement and 8% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Against the Guideline Range
The guideline range is the sentence range calculated under the federal Sentencing Guidelines. 5 sentences (29%) were within the range. 9 (53%) were below the range at the government's request, and 3 (18%) were below the range without a government request. None was above the range.
The within-range share was 33% for all districts in this category and 37% for all offenses in the district. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 17 people (6%).
Guideline, Criminal History, and Financial Orders
All 17 people had the same primary guideline, §2A4.1 (Kidnapping, Abduction, Unlawful Restraint). In criminal history terms, 59% were in category I, the lowest, and 6% were in category VI, the highest.
A fine was ordered for 5 people (29%), and restitution for 7 (41%).
Counts by Year
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 10 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 7. The yearly counts run from 1 to 4 people. The yearly medians in the table range widely, from 15 months to 470 months, but each is based on very few people and none is a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 4 | 90 months | 1 of 4 |
| 2017 | 2 | 159 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2018 | 3 | 80 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2019 | 1 | 108 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2022 | 1 | 15 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2023 | 1 | 470 months | 0 of 1 |
| 2024 | 4 | 174 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2025 | 1 | 180 months | 1 of 1 |
What the Records Do Not Show
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served, and the data does not describe the facts of any case. Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey is in this district, but courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of New Jersey (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New Jersey") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Kidnapping" (17). 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.
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)
- Federal Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- 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.