Federal Obscenity and Other Sex Offense Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025
All 11 people sentenced in the "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" type in the District of Colorado in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 were sentenced under §2A3.5 (Failure to Register as a Sex Offender), and all 11 received a prison term. The median prison term was 18 months, the same as for all 94 districts.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 › Obscenity and Other Sex Offense: District of Colorado
In brief: All 11 people sentenced in the "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" type in the District of Colorado in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 were sentenced under §2A3.5 (Failure to Register as a Sex Offender), and all 11 received a prison term. The median prison term was 18 months, the same as for all 94 districts. 7 sentences (64%) were within the guideline range, compared with 54% for all districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 11 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.
One Guideline for All 11 People
"Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" is a category the U.S. Sentencing Commission assigns by the main guideline used at sentencing. In Colorado, every person in this category had §2A3.5 (Failure to Register as a Sex Offender) as the primary guideline.
The cases were less than 1% of the 4,231 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The category name covers more kinds of offenses than this guideline alone.
Prison Terms
All 11 people (100%) received a prison term, and none received probation only. Across all districts, 95% were sent to prison.
The median prison term was 18 months. A quarter received 30.5 months or more, and a quarter received 15 months or less. The median for all offenses in the District of Colorado was 36 months. These are the terms ordered, not time served.
Guilty Pleas and One Trial
Of the 11 people, 10 (91%) pleaded guilty and 1 was convicted after a trial. For all districts, 99% pleaded guilty. All guilty pleas had a written plea agreement.
The median prison term was 17 months after a guilty plea. The person convicted at trial received 120 months. One case is not enough to compare plea and trial outcomes.
Compared With the Guideline Range
Each case has a range calculated under the Sentencing Guidelines. A sentence within that range was given to 7 people (64%). Sentences above the range were given to 2 (18%). One sentence (9%) was below the range at the government's request, and 1 (9%) was below the range without such a request.
For all offenses in the District of Colorado, 36% of sentences were within the range. The above-range share here, 18%, comes from only 2 people.
Supervised Release and Criminal History
Supervised release after prison was ordered for all 11 people (100%), with a median term of 60 months. No fine and no restitution was ordered (0% for each). No mandatory minimum prison term applied (0 of 11).
In criminal history, 0% were in the lowest category, Category I, and 36% were in the highest, Category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts by Year
The district sentenced 7 people in this category in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 4 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The table shows 4 people in 2016 and 1 person in each of the other 7 years listed. A median based on 1 person is that person's sentence, so the yearly figures show no trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 4 | 29 months | 3 of 4 |
| 2017 | 1 | 7.8 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2018 | 1 | 15 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2019 | 1 | 18 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2020 | 1 | 16 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 1 | 24 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2022 | 1 | 10 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2025 | 1 | 37 months | 1 of 1 |
What Is Missing
The Commission's data begins at sentencing. People who were acquitted, and cases that were dismissed, are not in it.
Buckley SFB, Fort Carson, Peterson SFB, and the U.S. Air Force Academy appear in this site's court-martial data and are in the district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not this federal court, and the records give no link between those installations and these 11 federal cases.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Colorado (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Colorado") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" (11). 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 District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Colorado, 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.