> ## 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 Northern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-obscenity-other-sex-offenses-sentences-northern-district-of-illinois/ - Published: 2026-11-04T11:05:36.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T11:05:36.000Z - Description: Of the 11 people sentenced for obscenity and other sex offenses in the Northern District of Illinois in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 10 (91%) received a sentence within the guideline range. That is higher than the 54% for this offense type in all 94 federal districts. The median prison term was 21 mon - 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 Northern District of Illinois, FY20](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-illinois/) › Obscenity and Other Sex Offense: Northern District of Illinois **In brief:** Of the 11 people sentenced for obscenity and other sex offenses in the Northern District of Illinois in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 10 (91%) received a sentence within the guideline range. That is higher than the 54% for this offense type in all 94 federal districts. The median prison term was 21 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 11 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/). ## Sentences Within the Guideline Range In this group, 10 of the 11 people (91%) were sentenced within the guideline range. The other person (9%) was sentenced below the range without a government request. None was above the range or below it at the government's request. For this offense type in all 94 districts, 54% of sentences were within the range. For all offenses in the Northern District of Illinois, the figure was 29%. The share here was higher than both. ## What "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" Means "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's category, built around the primary sentencing guideline in each case. Of the 11 cases, 10 used §2A3.5 (Failure to Register as a Sex Offender). These cases were less than 1% of the 6,211 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to none of the 11. ## Prison Terms All 11 people (100%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 21 months. A quarter received 28 months or more, and a quarter received 16 months or less. For this offense type in all 94 districts, 95% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 18 months. For all offenses in this district, the median was 42 months. The median here was higher than the first figure and lower than the second. ## Every Person Pleaded Guilty All 11 (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. Each plea had a written plea agreement. For all 94 districts, 99% of these cases ended in a guilty plea. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 93%. ## Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History After prison, 10 people (91%) were ordered to serve supervised release. The median term was 60 months. No fine and no restitution was ordered. In criminal history, 9% were in the lowest category and 18% in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. ## Yearly Counts Are Very Small Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 5 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 6\. No year had more than 2 people, so the yearly medians in the table are based on very small groups. A federal fiscal year starts October 1 and ends September 30. The records do not support a trend over time from numbers this small. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 1 | 26 months | 1 of 1 | | 2018 | 2 | 30 months | 2 of 2 | | 2019 | 2 | 23 months | 2 of 2 | | 2020 | 1 | 18 months | 1 of 1 | | 2021 | 2 | 16.5 months | 2 of 2 | | 2024 | 1 | 16 months | 1 of 1 | | 2025 | 2 | 15 months | 2 of 2 | ## Limits of the Records Only people who were convicted and sentenced appear in this data, so cases that ended another way are not counted. Each prison term is the one the court imposed. Time actually served is not shown. Great Lakes, Illinois, lies within this district. Service members face courts-martial in military courts, which are not part of the federal district court counted here. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Illinois (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Illinois North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" (11). 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](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 Northern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-illinois/) (overview) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-northern-district-of-illinois/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-northern-district-of-illinois/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-northern-district-of-illinois/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Robbery Sentences in the Northern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-robbery-sentences-northern-district-of-illinois/) (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.