Federal Obscenity and Other Sex Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025
16 people were sentenced under the Commission's "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" type in the Eastern District of Arkansas in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 15 of them were sentenced under §2A3.5, which covers failure to register as a sex offender. 10 (63%) received a prison term, with a median of 14.7 mon
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of Arkansas, FY201 › Obscenity and Other Sex Offense: Eastern District of Arkansas
In brief: 16 people were sentenced under the Commission's "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" type in the Eastern District of Arkansas in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 15 of them were sentenced under §2A3.5, which covers failure to register as a sex offender. 10 (63%) received a prison term, with a median of 14.7 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 16 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 offense type is the Commission's category, assigned by the primary guideline of each case. In this district, 15 people were sentenced under §2A3.5 (Failure to Register as a Sex Offender). 1 person was sentenced under §2G3.1 (Importing, Mailing, or Transporting Obscene Matter).
The group was less than 1% of the 4,942 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Across all 94 districts, 3,595 people were sentenced under this offense type.
Sentences Below the Guideline Range
8 people (50%) were sentenced below the range without a government request, and 2 (13%) were below it at the government's request. Within the range were 3 people (19%), and above it were 3 (19%).
For all districts, 54% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the share was 55%. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 16 people.
Prison Terms and Probation
10 of the 16 people (63%) went to prison, and 6 (38%) received probation only. Across all districts, 95% were sent to prison.
The median term was 14.7 months. The longest quarter of terms were 33 months or more, and the shortest quarter were 7.5 months or less. The all-district median was 18 months. For every offense in this district it was 50 months. These are imposed terms, not time served.
Every Case Ended in a Guilty Plea
16 of the 16 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none went to trial. Among the guilty pleas, 50% came with a written agreement and 50% had none. In all districts, 99% pleaded guilty.
Because there were no trials, the data has no comparison between pleas and trials for this group.
Supervised Release and Prior Record
10 people (63%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 60 months. No fine or restitution was ordered.
19% of the group were in the lowest criminal history category and 6% in the highest. Court-martial records contain no criminal history field.
A Group That Grew Later
2 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 14 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The latter period covers more years, and no year had more than 4 people. In the table, 2021 had 4 people and a median of 48 months, while 2020 and 2024 had medians of 0 months. These counts do not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 | 12 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2018 | 1 | 12 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 4 | 48 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2022 | 1 | 24 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2023 | 3 | 17.4 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2024 | 3 | 0 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2025 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 |
What Is Not Shown
Little Rock AFB, Arkansas, is in the district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts rather than in this federal court.
Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data. It also does not give the facts of any case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Arkansas (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Arkansas East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" (16). 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 Arkansas, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Prison Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Arkansas, 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.