> ## 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 Mississippi, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-obscenity-other-sex-offenses-sentences-northern-district-of-mississippi/ - Published: 2026-11-04T11:14:54.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T11:14:54.000Z - Description: All 152 people sentenced in the Northern District of Mississippi under the Commission's "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" type in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 pleaded guilty. 146 (96%) received a prison term, with a median of 21 months, compared with 18 months for all 94 districts. Almost all of these cas - 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 Mississippi, F](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-mississippi/) › Obscenity and Other Sex Offense: Northern District of Mississippi **In brief:** All 152 people sentenced in the Northern District of Mississippi under the Commission's "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" type in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 pleaded guilty. 146 (96%) received a prison term, with a median of 21 months, compared with 18 months for all 94 districts. Almost all of these cases used one guideline, §2A3.5 (Failure to Register as a Sex Offender). 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 152 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/). ## What This Offense Type Mostly Consists Of The name "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" suggests a broad group, but the district's cases are concentrated. The primary guideline was §2A3.5 (Failure to Register as a Sex Offender) for 149 of the 152 people. It was §2G3.1 (Importing, Mailing, or Transporting Obscene Matter) for 1 person. The offense type is a category the U.S. Sentencing Commission assigns from the main guideline used at sentencing. These cases were 10% of the 1,573 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. ## No Trials, and a Written Agreement in Every Plea All 152 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. In all 94 districts, 99% of people in this offense type pleaded guilty, and for all offenses in this district the figure was 98%. Every guilty plea had a written plea agreement. Because no one went to trial, the records cannot show how trial sentences compare with plea sentences in this group. ## Prison Terms and Probation 146 of the 152 people (96%) received a prison term, and 4 (3%) received probation only. For all districts, 95% were sent to prison. The median prison term was 21 months. A quarter received 30 months or more, and a quarter received 13 months or less. The median for all 94 districts was 18 months, which is lower. The median for all offenses in this district was 36 months. These are the terms imposed, not time served. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 152 people with that information recorded (0%). ## Position Against the Guideline Range For 150 people, the records show how the sentence compared with the range. Sentences within the range were given to 97 (65%), which is a higher share than the 54% for all districts and the 45% for all offenses in this district. Sentences below the range without a government request were given to 36 (24%), and sentences below the range at the government's request to 4 (3%). Sentences above the range were given to 13 (9%). ## Supervised Release and Criminal History Supervised release after prison was ordered for 146 people (96%). The median term was 60 months, and 2 people (1%) received supervised release for life. No fine and no restitution was ordered. In criminal history, 5% were in the lowest category, Category I, and 14% were in the highest, Category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. ## Counts by Fiscal Year The district sentenced 92 people in this offense type in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 60 people in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The table gives every year, and a fiscal year begins on October 1 and ends the next September. Yearly counts run from 6 to 30 people. The yearly median prison term runs from 12 months to 27 months. These small counts do not establish a trend. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 25 | 18 months | 100% | | 2017 | 30 | 24 months | 100% | | 2018 | 24 | 23 months | 100% | | 2019 | 13 | 14 months | 100% | | 2020 | 7 | 16 months | 7 of 7 | | 2021 | 6 | 12 months | 6 of 6 | | 2022 | 14 | 18 months | 100% | | 2023 | 7 | 27 months | 7 of 7 | | 2024 | 12 | 19.5 months | 100% | | 2025 | 14 | 15 months | 100% | ## Limits of the Records Columbus AFB, Mississippi, is in this district and appears in this site's court-martial data. Courts-martial are tried in military courts and not in this federal court. The Commission's data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Mississippi (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Mississippi North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" (152). 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 Mississippi, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-mississippi/) (overview) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-northern-district-of-mississippi/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-northern-district-of-mississippi/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-northern-district-of-mississippi/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Northern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-child-pornography-sentences-northern-district-of-mississippi/) (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.