Federal Obscenity and Other Sex Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025
In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 12 people in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania were sentenced in the Commission's "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" type, and 11 of them had failure to register as a sex offender as the primary guideline. 11 of the 12 (92%) received a prison term, with a median of 18 mo
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, F › Obscenity and Other Sex Offense: Eastern District of Pennsylvania
In brief: In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 12 people in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania were sentenced in the Commission's "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" type, and 11 of them had failure to register as a sex offender as the primary guideline. 11 of the 12 (92%) received a prison term, with a median of 18 months, and 10 (83%) were sentenced within the guideline range.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 12 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 Covers Here
The offense type is a category set by the U.S. Sentencing Commission. It is not limited to obscenity cases, and in this district it was dominated by one guideline.
11 people had §2A3.5, Failure to Register as a Sex Offender, as the primary guideline. 1 person had §2G3.1, Importing, Mailing, or Transporting Obscene Matter.
The 12 cases were less than 1% of the 5,462 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 5 were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 7 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025.
Sentences Within the Guideline Range
The sentence was within the guideline range for 83% of the 12 people (10). It was below the range at the government's request for 8% (1), and above the range for 8% (1). None was below the range without a government request.
Across all 94 districts, 54% of people in this offense type were sentenced within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 34%. The share within the range was higher here than for either group.
Prison Terms
11 of the 12 people (92%) received a prison term, and 1 (8%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Across all districts, 95% were sent to prison.
The median prison term was 18 months, the same as the all-district median for this offense type. A quarter received 25.5 months or more, and a quarter received 15.5 months or less. The median for all offenses in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania was 42 months, which is higher than the median here.
Plea Agreements Were Less Common
11 of the 12 people (92%) pleaded guilty, and 1 person was convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 19.5 months. After a trial it was 15 months, based on 1 person.
Among the guilty pleas, 36% had a written plea agreement and 64% were straight pleas with no agreement. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 12 people with that information recorded.
Supervised Release and Other Terms
10 people (83%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison. The median term was 60 months, and 1 person (8%) received supervised release for life.
A fine was ordered for 2 people (17%). Restitution was ordered for 0 (0%).
8% were in the lowest criminal history category, category I, and 17% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Counts
The table shows 1 to 4 people in each year. The largest group was 4 people in fiscal year 2018, with a median prison term of 25.5 months. Because the yearly groups are so small, the medians do not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 | 18 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2018 | 4 | 25.5 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2020 | 1 | 21 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 2 | 17 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2022 | 1 | 15 months | 0 of 1 |
| 2023 | 1 | 27 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2024 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2025 | 1 | 12 months | 1 of 1 |
Limits of the Data
Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted, so acquittals and dismissals are missing. Prison terms are those imposed, not time served.
The records do not describe the facts of any case. They cannot show how a registration offense differed from an obscenity offense in sentencing, because only 1 person had the obscenity guideline.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Penn. East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" (12). 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 Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 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.