Federal Obscenity and Other Sex Offense Sentences in the Middle District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025
10 of the 14 people sentenced in the Middle District of Tennessee under the obscenity/other sex offenses category had failure to register as a sex offender as the primary guideline. All 14 pleaded guilty, 12 (86%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 21.5 months. The national media
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Middle District of Tennessee, FY201 › Obscenity and Other Sex Offense: Middle District of Tennessee
In brief: 10 of the 14 people sentenced in the Middle District of Tennessee under the obscenity/other sex offenses category had failure to register as a sex offender as the primary guideline. All 14 pleaded guilty, 12 (86%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 21.5 months. The national median for this offense type was 18 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 14 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 Includes in the District
"Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" is a category used by the U.S. Sentencing Commission. It groups several guidelines, and it is not one statute. In the Middle District of Tennessee, the Commission recorded 14 people in this category in fiscal years 2017 to 2025.
The most common primary guideline was §2A3.5 (Failure to Register as a Sex Offender), with 10 people. The next was §2G3.1 (Importing, Mailing, or Transporting Obscene Matter), with 4 people.
These cases were less than 1% of the 2,879 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Prison Terms
12 of the 14 (86%) received a prison term. None received probation only. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 21.5 months. A quarter received 34 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less.
For all 94 districts together, this offense type had 3,595 people, 95% of whom were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 18 months. The district's median is higher than the national one. For all offenses in the district, the median was 50 months.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 14 people (7%).
All 14 Pleaded Guilty
14 of 14 (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. The national rate for this offense type was 99%, and the district's rate for all offenses was 96%.
Among the guilty pleas, 79% had a written plea agreement and 21% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Sentences Compared With the Guideline Range
The sentence was within the guideline range for 64% of the 14 people (9). It was below the range at the government's request for 14% (2) and below the range without a government request for 14% (2). 1 person (7%) was sentenced above the range.
The national share within the range was 54%. For all offenses in this district, it was 26%. Sentences in this category were within the range more often than either of those figures.
Supervised Release and Criminal History
12 people (86%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison. The median term was 60 months, and 1 person (7%) received supervised release for life. No fine and no restitution was ordered.
On criminal history, 29% of the people were in the lowest category and 29% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Counts
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 5 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 9. No year had more than 3 people. The table shows medians from 6 months in 2025 to 109 months in 2023.
The 2023 figure is based on 2 people. At these counts, a yearly median does not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 2 | 12 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2018 | 2 | 16 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2019 | 1 | 30 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2020 | 2 | 35 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2022 | 3 | 12 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2023 | 2 | 109 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2024 | 1 | 27 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2025 | 1 | 6 months | 1 of 1 |
What the Records Cannot Show
The data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced. It does not describe the facts of any case or explain any sentence, and prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Middle District of Tennessee (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Tennessee Mid") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" (14). 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 Middle District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Middle District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Middle District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Middle District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Middle District of Tennessee, 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.