Federal Obscenity and Other Sex Offense Sentences in the District of New Hampshire, FY2016–2025
14 people were sentenced in the District of New Hampshire in the offense type "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. All 14 received a prison term, and the median prison term was 12 months. For this offense type in all 94 districts, the median was 18 months.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of New Hampshire, FY2016–2 › Obscenity and Other Sex Offense: District of New Hampshire
In brief: 14 people were sentenced in the District of New Hampshire in the offense type "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. All 14 received a prison term, and the median prison term was 12 months. For this offense type in all 94 districts, the median was 18 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.
Mostly Failure-to-Register Cases
The U.S. Sentencing Commission uses "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" as a catch-all category for sex offenses that are not in its other categories. In this district, 13 of the 14 people were sentenced mainly under §2A3.5 (Failure to Register as a Sex Offender). The other person was sentenced under §2G3.1 (Importing, Mailing, or Transporting Obscene Matter).
The group is small, and the cases were less than 1% of the 1,754 people sentenced in the district.
Prison Terms
All 14 people (100%) received a prison term, and none received probation only. The median prison term was 12 months. A quarter received 24 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less.
For this offense type in all 94 districts, the Commission counts 3,595 people. 95% were sent to prison, the median prison term was 18 months, and 99% pleaded guilty. The district's median was lower than the national median and also lower than the 30 months for all offenses in the district.
Pleas and Release Terms
All 14 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. 93% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 7% were straight pleas with no agreement.
No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 14 people. All 14 were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, and the median term was 60 months. No fine or restitution was ordered for anyone.
Guideline Range
Only 14% of sentences (2 people) were within the guideline range. 43% (6) were below the range at the government's request, 36% (5) were below the range without a government request, and 7% (1) was above the range.
For this offense type in all districts, 54% of sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 31%.
Criminal History
14% of the group 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.
Years With Cases
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 9 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 5. The table shows no more than 3 people in any year. The medians range from 0 months in 2020 to 66 months in 2025, but each rests on 1 to 3 people. The fiscal year runs October 1 to September 30.
The records do not show why any year differs from another.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 3 | 24 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2017 | 2 | 15 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2018 | 3 | 12 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2019 | 1 | 24 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2022 | 1 | 12 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2024 | 1 | 12 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2025 | 2 | 66 months | 2 of 2 |
What the Records Cannot Show
The data counts only people convicted and sentenced. It reports terms imposed, not time served. It does not describe the facts of any case or the earlier offense behind a registration requirement.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of New Hampshire (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New Hampshire") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" (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 District of New Hampshire, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of New Hampshire, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of New Hampshire, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of New Hampshire, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of New Hampshire, 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.