Federal National Defense Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025
In the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 14 people were sentenced for national defense offenses in fiscal years 2017 to 2025. Sentences were within the guideline range for 21% (3), below it at the government's request for 43% (6), and below it without a government request for 36% (5). 12 of the 14 (
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, F › National Defense Offense: Eastern District of Pennsylvania
In brief: In the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 14 people were sentenced for national defense offenses in fiscal years 2017 to 2025. Sentences were within the guideline range for 21% (3), below it at the government's request for 43% (6), and below it without a government request for 36% (5). 12 of the 14 (86%) received a prison term, with a median of 24 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 14 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.
Most Sentences Were Below the Guideline Range
Each of the 14 people had a guideline range recorded. The sentence was within the range for 21% (3). It was below the range at the government's request for 43% (6), and below the range without a government request for 36% (5). None was above the range.
For this offense type across all 94 districts, 36% of sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 34%. Sentences within the range were less common in this district's national defense cases than in either group.
The records do not show the reason for a below-range sentence in any individual case.
Which Offenses Are in This Category?
"National Defense" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's name for the offense type. In this district, the most common primary guideline was §2M5.2, Exportation of Arms, Munitions, or Military Equipment or Services Without Required Validated Export License, with 5 people.
Next was §2M5.3, Providing Material Support or Resources to Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations or Specially Designated Global Terrorists, or For a Terrorist Purpose, with 4 people. Also with 2 people each were §2M5.1, Evasion of Export Controls, and §2M6.2, Violation of Other Federal Atomic Energy Agency Statutes, Rules, and Regulations.
These cases were less than 1% of the 5,462 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 4 were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 10 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025.
Prison Terms and Probation
12 of the 14 people (86%) received a prison term, and 2 (14%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. The share sent to prison across all districts was 84%.
The median prison term was 24 months (2 years). A quarter received 60 months or more, and a quarter received 11.5 months or less. The median across all districts was also 24 months. The median for all offenses in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania was 42 months, which is higher than the national defense median here.
All Guilty Pleas
14 of 14 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. Of the pleas, 93% had a written plea agreement and 7% were straight pleas. Guilty pleas were 97% across all districts for this offense type, and 94% for all offenses in this district.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 14 people with that information recorded.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
11 people (79%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 7 (50%). Restitution was ordered for 0 (0%).
57% were in the lowest criminal history category, category I, and 29% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
A Table of Yearly Counts
The yearly counts are 1 to 4 people, so each median rests on very few cases. The medians shown range from 0 months in fiscal years 2018 and 2020 to 126 months in fiscal year 2025, and each of those years has 1 person. The records do not support reading a trend from these figures.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 1 | 96 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2019 | 2 | 102 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 3 | 24 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2022 | 1 | 46 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2024 | 4 | 11 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2025 | 1 | 126 months | 1 of 1 |
What Cannot Be Learned Here
Only convicted and sentenced people are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the Commission data. Prison terms are those imposed, not time served.
The sheet does not describe the conduct, the countries, or the items involved in any case, so it cannot explain the spread of sentences.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Penn. East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "National Defense" (14). 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 Eastern District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 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.