Federal Obscenity and Other Sex Offense Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025
The District of South Dakota sentenced 436 people in the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 18 months, the same as across all 94 federal districts. 422 of the 436 cases used a guideline about failure to re
· Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–20 › Obscenity and Other Sex Offense: District of South Dakota
In brief: The District of South Dakota sentenced 436 people in the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 18 months, the same as across all 94 federal districts. 422 of the 436 cases used a guideline about failure to register as a sex offender.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 436 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.
What This Offense Type Mostly Contains in South Dakota
The Commission's category sounds broader than the cases in it. The most common primary guideline was §2A3.5 (Failure to Register as a Sex Offender), used in 422 of the 436 cases. §2G3.1 (Importing, Mailing, or Transporting Obscene Matter) was used in 11.
The cases are 9% of the 5,041 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Prison Terms and How They Compare
432 of the 436 people (more than 99%) received a prison term, and 2 (less than 1%) received probation only. A quarter received 24 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less.
The median was 18 months here, and it was 18 months across all 94 districts, where 3,595 people were sentenced and 95% were sent to prison. For all offenses in the District of South Dakota, the median was 36 months.
Below the Range Without a Government Request
The largest group of sentences, 54% (236), was below the advisory guideline range without a government request. 37% (163) were within the range, 7% (32) were below it at the government's request, and 1% (5) were above it.
Across all 94 districts, 54% of sentences for this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 57%.
Pleas, Trials, and Mandatory Minimums
433 of 436 (more than 99%) pleaded guilty, and 3 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 18 months after a guilty plea and 45 months after a trial, based on 3 people.
Among the guilty pleas, 97% had a written plea agreement. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 person (less than 1%).
Counts and Medians by Year
133 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 303 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The yearly count was 69 in fiscal year 2022 and 66 in fiscal year 2024, and 26 in fiscal year 2020.
The yearly median prison term was 24 months in fiscal year 2019 and 18 months in most later years. Almost every year shows a guilty plea rate of 100%.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 28 | 13 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 38 | 15 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 34 | 18 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 33 | 24 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 26 | 18 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 34 | 19 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 69 | 15 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 55 | 18 months | 100% |
| 2024 | 66 | 18 months | 97% |
| 2025 | 53 | 18 months | 98% |
Supervised Release and Criminal History
431 people (99%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 60 months. 3 (less than 1%) received supervised release for life. A fine was ordered for 1 and restitution for 4, both less than 1%.
In criminal history, 4% were in the lowest category I and 25% in the highest VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Limits of This Data
Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota is in this district, and courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court. The records cover only people who were convicted and sentenced, and they do not describe the facts of any case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of South Dakota (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "South Dakota") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" (436). 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 (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 South Dakota, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Assault Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of South Dakota, 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.