> ## 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 Eastern District of New York, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-obscenity-other-sex-offenses-sentences-eastern-district-of-new-york/ - Published: 2026-11-04T11:00:07.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T11:00:07.000Z - Description: In the Eastern District of New York, 25 people were sentenced for obscenity and other sex offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. All 25 (100%) pleaded guilty. A prison term went to 22 (88%), with a median of 15 months. Across all 94 districts, the median for this offense type was 18 months. - 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 Eastern District of New York, FY201](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-new-york/) › Obscenity and Other Sex Offense: Eastern District of New York **In brief:** In the Eastern District of New York, 25 people were sentenced for obscenity and other sex offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. All 25 (100%) pleaded guilty. A prison term went to 22 (88%), with a median of 15 months. Across all 94 districts, the median for this offense type 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 25 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/). ## Mostly Failure to Register Cases "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type, and it holds several kinds of cases. In this district, the most common primary guideline was §2A3.5 (Failure to Register as a Sex Offender), used for 22 of the 25 people. The other 3 people were sentenced under §2G3.1 (Importing, Mailing, or Transporting Obscene Matter). The district numbers therefore describe mainly one kind of case. These cases were less than 1% of the 6,411 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. ## Prison Terms and Probation Of the 25 people, 22 (88%) received a prison term, and 2 (8%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. The median prison term among those sent to prison was 15 months. A quarter received 28.5 months or more, and a quarter received 11 months or less. The median across all districts was 18 months, which is higher. For all offenses in this district, it was 27 months. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 25 people (4%). Supervised release was ordered for 21 people (84%), with a median term of 60 months. ## No Trials in This District No one in this group was convicted at trial. The all-district guilty plea rate for this offense type was 99%, and the rate for all offenses in this district was 95%. Among the guilty pleas, 76% had a written plea agreement, and 24% were straight pleas with no agreement. Without any trial convictions, trial and plea sentences cannot be compared. ## Sentences Against the Guideline Range The sentence was within the guideline range for 8 people (32%). It was below the range without a request from the government for 12 (48%), and below the range at the government's request for 3 (12%). Another 2 (8%) were above the range. Across all districts, 54% of sentences for this offense type were within the range. In this district, the share for all offenses was 24%. ## Counts by Fiscal Year Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 have 12 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 have 13 people. Fiscal year 2016 has the most, with 7 people and a median of 18 months. Yearly medians range from 0 months in fiscal year 2021 to 61 months in fiscal year 2022\. Most years have 1 to 4 people, so the table does not show a trend. The fiscal year runs from October 1 through the end of September. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 7 | 18 months | 7 of 7 | | 2017 | 2 | 14.6 months | 2 of 2 | | 2018 | 2 | 30 months | 2 of 2 | | 2019 | 1 | 11.3 months | 1 of 1 | | 2020 | 2 | 37 months | 2 of 2 | | 2021 | 3 | 0 months | 3 of 3 | | 2022 | 2 | 61 months | 2 of 2 | | 2023 | 1 | 21 months | 1 of 1 | | 2024 | 4 | 6 months | 4 of 4 | | 2025 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 | ## Fines, Restitution, and Criminal History No fine was ordered (0%), and restitution was ordered for 1 person (4%). In criminal history, 12% were in the lowest category (Category I), and 16% were in the highest (Category VI). ## What the Records Cannot Show Only people who were convicted and sentenced appear in this data, so acquittals and dismissals are missing. The prison terms are those imposed by the court, and the time served may differ. No case details are included, and the data does not say why any sentence was above or below the guideline range. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of New York (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New York East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" (25). 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](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 Eastern District of New York, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-new-york/) (overview) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of New York, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-eastern-district-of-new-york/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of New York, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-eastern-district-of-new-york/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of New York, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-eastern-district-of-new-york/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of New York, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-eastern-district-of-new-york/) (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.