Federal National Defense Offense Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025
The Central District of California sentenced 25 people for national defense offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of those, 21 (84%) received a prison term, with a median of 38.1 months (3.2 years). In all 94 federal districts, the median for this offense type was 24 months.
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In brief: The Central District of California sentenced 25 people for national defense offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of those, 21 (84%) received a prison term, with a median of 38.1 months (3.2 years). In all 94 federal districts, the median for this offense type was 24 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 25 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.
Export Control and Weapons Cases
The U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type "National Defense" covers export violations, terrorism-related offenses, and weapons-of-mass-destruction offenses, among others. The guidelines listed for this district show which of these appeared.
The most common were §2M5.2 (Exportation of Arms, Munitions, or Military Equipment or Services Without Required Validated Export License) with 9 people and §2M5.1 (Evasion of Export Controls) with 9. Another 3 people were sentenced under §2M5.3 (Providing Material Support or Resources to Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations or Specially Designated Global Terrorists, or For a Terrorist Purpose).
One person was sentenced under §2M6.1 (Unlawful Activity Involving Nuclear Material, Weapons, or Facilities, Biological Agents, Toxins, or Delivery Systems, Chemical Weapons, or Other Weapons of Mass Destruction).
How Long Were Prison Terms?
Of the 25 people, 21 (84%) were sentenced to prison and 3 (12%) received probation only. The share sent to prison is the same as the 84% for all districts, where 2,236 people were sentenced under this type.
The median prison term here was 38.1 months. A quarter received 52 months or more, and a quarter received 18 months or less. For all offenses in this district, the median was 37 months. These are terms imposed, not time served.
Sentences Below the Range at the Government's Request
Of the 24 people with guideline information, 12 (50%) were sentenced below the range at the government's request. Another 8 (33%) were within the range, and 4 (17%) were below it without a government request. None were above it.
For all districts, 36% of these cases were within the range, and for all offenses in this district, 29% were. The records do not show what the government's requests were based on.
Pleas and Trials
Guilty pleas were entered by 23 of the 25 people (92%), and 2 were convicted after a trial. The share for all districts was 97%.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 27 months. After a trial it was 360 months, but that figure rests on 2 people and cannot support a general comparison.
Among the guilty pleas, 96% had a written plea agreement. No guilty plea was a straight plea. No one in this group had a mandatory minimum recorded (0 of 24 with that information).
Supervised Release and Criminal History
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 20 people (80%), with a median term of 36 months. Lifetime supervised release was ordered for 3 (12%). A fine was ordered for 7 (28%), and restitution for 2 (8%).
On criminal history, 72% of the people were in category I, the lowest, and 12% were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts by Fiscal Year
The district sentenced 11 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 14 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. Each fiscal year starts October 1 and ends at the end of September.
Yearly counts range from 1 to 4. The yearly medians range from 3.3 months to 199.1 months. With so few people each year, the table shows individual years and not trends.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 4 | 103.5 months | 3 of 4 |
| 2017 | 4 | 199.1 months | 3 of 4 |
| 2018 | 1 | 41 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2019 | 2 | 46 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2020 | 2 | 27 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2021 | 1 | 52 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2022 | 2 | 49 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2023 | 4 | 3.3 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2024 | 3 | 18 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2025 | 2 | 96 months | 2 of 2 |
Boundaries of the Records
The records include only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are missing, and the items exported or the countries involved are not described. These cases were less than 1% of the 9,958 people sentenced in the district.
Fort Irwin, Twentynine Palms, and Vandenberg SFB are in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Central District of California (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "California Central") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "National Defense" (25). 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 (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- Federal Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Central District of California, 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.