> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Federal Obscenity and Other Sex Offense Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-obscenity-other-sex-offenses-sentences-district-of-south-carolina/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:33:14.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:33:14.000Z - Description: In the District of South Carolina, 27 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 for the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses." The median prison term was 19.9 months among the 25 who were sent to prison, and all 27 pleaded guilty. For the same offense type - 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 District of South Carolina, FY2016–](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-south-carolina/) › Obscenity and Other Sex Offense: District of South Carolina **In brief:** In the District of South Carolina, 27 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 for the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses." The median prison term was 19.9 months among the 25 who were sent to prison, and all 27 pleaded guilty. For the same offense type across all 94 federal districts, the median prison term was 18 months. 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 27 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/). ## What This Offense Type Covers in This District "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" is a category set by the U.S. Sentencing Commission. It groups cases by the main sentencing guideline applied, not by the name of the charge. In the District of South Carolina, 23 of the 27 cases had §2A3.5 (Failure to Register as a Sex Offender) as the primary guideline. The other 4 had §2G3.1 (Importing, Mailing, or Transporting Obscene Matter). These cases were less than 1% of the 6,874 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. The fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30. ## Prison Terms and Probation 25 of the 27 people (93%) received a prison term. None received probation only. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 19.9 months. A quarter received 30 months or more, and a quarter received 8 months or less. For all offenses in the district, the median prison term was 48.2 months. The median for this offense type was lower than that figure. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 27 people with that information recorded. A fine was ordered for 0 people, and restitution was ordered for 0 people. ## Guilty Pleas and Plea Agreements All 27 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. Across all 94 districts, 99% of people in this offense type pleaded guilty, and for all offenses in the district the figure was 98%. Among the guilty pleas here, 15% had a written plea agreement. The other 85% were straight pleas with no agreement. ## Where Sentences Fell Against the Guideline Range The guideline range is the sentencing range the court calculates under the Commission's guidelines. For all 27 people the position was recorded. Sentences were within the range for 52% (14 people). Sentences were below the range at the government's request for 4% (1 person), and below the range without a government request for 30% (8 people). Sentences were above the range for 15% (4 people). For this offense type across all 94 districts, 54% of sentences were within the range. For all offenses in the district, the figure was 47%. ## Supervised Release and Criminal History 25 people (93%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison. The median term was 60 months, and 2 people (7%) received supervised release for life. Criminal history is scored in categories from category I (lowest) to category VI (highest). 7% were in category I and 7% were in category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so this measure has no counterpart there. ## Year-by-Year Counts The counts by year are small. 18 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 9 people in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The table lists each year. With 1 to 7 people in a year, a median for one year describes very few cases and should not be read as a trend. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 2 | 21 months | 2 of 2 | | 2017 | 5 | 25.5 months | 5 of 5 | | 2018 | 7 | 24 months | 7 of 7 | | 2019 | 4 | 13.5 months | 4 of 4 | | 2020 | 1 | 0 months | 1 of 1 | | 2021 | 1 | 60 months | 1 of 1 | | 2022 | 1 | 0 months | 1 of 1 | | 2023 | 1 | 18 months | 1 of 1 | | 2024 | 3 | 90 months | 3 of 3 | | 2025 | 2 | 0 months | 2 of 2 | ## What the Records Cannot Show The Commission's data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it, so these numbers cannot show how often such cases were brought and ended another way. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. The records also do not show the facts of any case. Joint Base Charleston, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, and Shaw AFB are in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court, and this post reports federal numbers on their own. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of South Carolina (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "South Carolina") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" (27). 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](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 District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-south-carolina/) (overview) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-south-carolina/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-south-carolina/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-south-carolina/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-district-of-south-carolina/) (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.