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# Federal National Defense Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of New York, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-national-defense-sentences-eastern-district-of-new-york/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:31:34.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:31:34.000Z
- Description: 60 people were sentenced for national defense offenses in the Eastern District of New York in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 54 (90%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 30 months, compared with 24 months across all 94 federal districts. Terms varied widely: a quarter received 145.5 m
- 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/) › National Defense Offense: Eastern District of New York

**In brief:** 60 people were sentenced for national defense offenses in the Eastern District of New York in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. 54 (90%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 30 months, compared with 24 months across all 94 federal districts. Terms varied widely: a quarter received 145.5 months or more, and a quarter received 3.4 months or less.

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 60 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 Wide Range of Prison Terms

The Sentencing Commission counts 60 people in this district under the offense type "National Defense." 54 (90%) were sentenced to prison, and 4 (7%) to probation only.

The median prison term was 30 months (2.5 years), with a quarter of terms at 145.5 months or more and a quarter at 3.4 months or less. The national median for this type was 24 months, and 84% of people nationally went to prison. The median for all offenses in this district was 27 months. These are imposed terms, not time served.

## Guidelines Behind These Cases

This offense type brings together several unlike kinds of cases. The primary guideline for 25 people was §2M5.3 (Providing Material Support or Resources to Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations or Specially Designated Global Terrorists, or For a Terrorist Purpose). For 21 people it was §2M5.1 (Evasion of Export Controls). For 9 it was §2M5.2 (Exportation of Arms, Munitions, or Military Equipment or Services Without Required Validated Export License). For 2 it was §2M6.1 (Unlawful Activity Involving Nuclear Material, Weapons, or Facilities, Biological Agents, Toxins, or Delivery Systems, Chemical Weapons, or Other Weapons of Mass Destruction).

The data does not describe any individual case. In total, these 60 people were less than 1% of the 6,411 people sentenced in the district.

## Pleas Versus Trials

53 people (88%) pleaded guilty, and 7 were convicted at trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 24 months, and after a trial it was 240 months for the 7 people. 96% of the guilty pleas had a written agreement, and 4% did not.

In all districts, 97% of people in this type pleaded guilty. For all offenses in this district the rate was 95%.

## Position Relative to the Guideline Range

14 sentences (23%) were within the calculated range. 18 (30%) were below it at the government's request, and 28 (47%) were below it without such a request. None was above it.

The national share within the range was 36%, and the share for all offenses in this district was 24%. 4 of the 59 people with mandatory minimum information recorded had one (7%).

## Release, Fines, and Criminal History

44 people (73%) were placed on supervised release, with a median term of 29 months, and 6 (10%) received supervised release for life. 10 people (17%) were ordered to pay a fine, and 2 (3%) to pay restitution.

53% were in Category I, the lowest criminal history category, and 43% were in Category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## What the Yearly Table Shows

Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 29 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 31\. Yearly counts range from 2 to 12 people. One year's median was 3.7 months (fiscal year 2018), and another was 144 months (fiscal year 2019). With groups this small, a single case can move a median, so the table does not show a trend.

The Commission data includes only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are left out.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 6                | 120 months    | 4 of 6         |
| 2017        | 9                | 36 months     | 7 of 9         |
| 2018        | 12               | 3.7 months    | 92%            |
| 2019        | 2                | 144 months    | 2 of 2         |
| 2020        | 3                | 30 months     | 3 of 3         |
| 2021        | 2                | 75 months     | 2 of 2         |
| 2022        | 12               | 78 months     | 83%            |
| 2023        | 4                | 61.8 months   | 4 of 4         |
| 2024        | 2                | 23.1 months   | 2 of 2         |
| 2025        | 8                | 22.3 months   | 8 of 8         |

### 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 "National Defense" (60). 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](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.