Federal Obscenity and Other Sex Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Texas, FY2016–2025
98 people were sentenced in the "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" offense type in the Northern District of Texas in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 97 (99%) received a prison term, and the median was 24 months (2 years), compared with 18 months in all 94 federal districts together.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Northern District of Texas, FY2016– › Obscenity and Other Sex Offense: Northern District of Texas
In brief: 98 people were sentenced in the "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" offense type in the Northern District of Texas in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 97 (99%) received a prison term, and the median was 24 months (2 years), compared with 18 months in all 94 federal districts together.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 98 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.
Registration Cases and Obscene Matter Cases
The Sentencing Commission puts failure to register as a sex offender in the same offense type as obscenity cases. 67 of the 98 people had §2A3.5 (Failure to Register as a Sex Offender) as the primary guideline.
31 had §2G3.1 (Importing, Mailing, or Transporting Obscene Matter). The group was less than 1% of the 14,591 people sentenced in the district.
Prison Terms
1 person (1%) received probation only. The median prison term for the other 97 was 24 months. A quarter received 37 months or more, and a quarter received 18 months or less.
Nationally, 3,595 people were in this offense type, 95% were sent to prison, and the median was 18 months. The median for all offenses in this district was 60 months. The figures are sentences imposed, not time served.
More Sentences Above the Range
A guideline range is calculated for every case, and this section compares sentences with it. 72 sentences (73%) were within it. 2 (2%) were below it at the government's request, and 2 (2%) were below it without a request. 22 (22%) were above it.
In all 94 districts, 54% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the share was 62%. No mandatory minimum applied to anyone in the group.
Pleas
97 of 98 (99%) pleaded guilty, and 1 person was convicted after a trial. The median after a guilty plea was 24 months. The median after the trial was 41 months, which is a single case and cannot be compared in any meaningful way.
85% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 15% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Supervised Release and Criminal History
97 people (99%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison. The median term was 60 months, and 1 person (1%) received supervised release for life.
A fine was ordered for 3 people (3%), and restitution for 1 (1%). 32% were in the lowest criminal history category, and 5% were in the highest.
Fiscal Year Counts
47 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 51 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. Yearly counts range from 6 to 15. Yearly medians range from 18 months to 51 months, with the highest in fiscal year 2021.
The yearly counts are small, and the table does not show a clear trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 10 | 27 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 9 | 18 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2018 | 13 | 27 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 15 | 27 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 14 | 24 months | 93% |
| 2021 | 7 | 51 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2022 | 9 | 27 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2023 | 7 | 26 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2024 | 6 | 29 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2025 | 8 | 22.5 months | 8 of 8 |
Limits of These Records
The data is limited to people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it. Dyess AFB, Goodfellow AFB, and Sheppard AFB are in this district. Their courts-martial are held in military courts and not in this federal court. The records give no facts about any individual case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Texas (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Texas North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" (98). 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 Northern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Texas, 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.