Federal Obscenity and Other Sex Offense Sentences in the Middle District of Alabama, FY2016–2025
All 50 people in the "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" category in the Middle District of Alabama in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 had §2A3.5 (Failure to Register as a Sex Offender) as the primary guideline. 47 (94%) received a prison term, with a median of 15 months. That is lower than the 18 months for a
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In brief: All 50 people in the "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" category in the Middle District of Alabama in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 had §2A3.5 (Failure to Register as a Sex Offender) as the primary guideline. 47 (94%) received a prison term, with a median of 15 months. That is lower than the 18 months for all 94 districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 50 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.
The Category Here Is Entirely Failure to Register
The U.S. Sentencing Commission groups several offenses under this heading. In this district, all 50 people were sentenced under the same primary guideline, §2A3.5 (Failure to Register as a Sex Offender).
These cases were 2% of the 2,037 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The Commission data does not show the facts behind any registration case.
Prison Terms
47 of the 50 people (94%) received a prison term, and 2 (4%) received probation only. The median prison term was 15 months. A quarter received 21 months or more, and a quarter received 5.6 months or less.
For all districts, 95% of people in this category went to prison, with a median of 18 months. For all offenses in this district, the median was 46 months.
Most Sentences Were Below the Range
29 sentences (58%) were below the guideline range without a government request. 17 (34%) were within the range, 3 (6%) were below it at the government's request, and 1 (2%) was above it.
For all districts, 54% of sentences in this category were within the range, which is higher than the 34% here. For all offenses in this district, 47% were within the range.
No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 50 people.
Pleas Without Agreements
All 50 people (100%) pleaded guilty. Among the guilty pleas, 46% had a written plea agreement and 54% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Straight pleas were therefore more common than written agreements in this category.
Criminal History and Supervised Release
Only 4% of the people were in the lowest criminal history category, category I, and 16% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
46 people (92%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 60 months, and 1 person (2%) received supervised release for life. A fine was ordered for 1 person (2%), and no one was ordered to pay restitution.
Yearly Counts
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 23 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 27 people. Yearly counts range from 1 to 10 people.
The medians in the table range from 8 months to 22.5 months. With counts this small, the records do not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 5 | 15 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2017 | 10 | 22.5 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 4 | 18 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2019 | 4 | 17.9 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2020 | 3 | 10 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2021 | 1 | 12 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2022 | 3 | 14 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2023 | 8 | 14.5 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2024 | 5 | 8 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2025 | 7 | 12 months | 7 of 7 |
Maxwell AFB and Limits
Maxwell AFB, Alabama, is in this district and appears in this site's court-martial data. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court.
The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are not included.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Middle District of Alabama (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Alabama Mid") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" (50). 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 Middle District of Alabama, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Middle District of Alabama, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Middle District of Alabama, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Middle District of Alabama, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Middle District of Alabama, 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.