Federal Obscenity and Other Sex Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025
Of 55 people sentenced under the offense type "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" in the Southern District of Iowa in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 51 were sentenced under the guideline for failure to register as a sex offender. 54 (98%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 30 months (2.5
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2 › Obscenity and Other Sex Offense: Southern District of Iowa
In brief: Of 55 people sentenced under the offense type "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" in the Southern District of Iowa in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 51 were sentenced under the guideline for failure to register as a sex offender. 54 (98%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 30 months (2.5 years).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 55 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.
Failure to Register Made Up Most of the Group
The most common primary guideline was §2A3.5 (Failure to Register as a Sex Offender), with 51 people. The other named guideline was §2G3.1 (Importing, Mailing, or Transporting Obscene Matter), with 4 people.
The offense type is a category of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, and it groups different kinds of cases. These 55 cases were 1% of the 4,208 people sentenced in the district. The records do not break out the sentences by guideline.
Prison Terms Compared With All Districts
54 of the 55 people (98%) received a prison term, and 1 (2%) received probation only. The median prison term was 30 months. A quarter of those sent to prison received 36 months or more, and a quarter received 18.5 months or less.
In all 94 districts, the median for this offense type was 18 months, and 95% of people were sent to prison. For all offenses in the Southern District of Iowa, the median was 80 months. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
Sentences Above the Range
8 people (15%) were sentenced above the guideline range. 39 people (71%) were within the range, 5 (9%) were below it at the government's request, and 3 (5%) were below it without a request.
Across all 94 districts, 54% of sentences for this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in this district, 37% were within the range.
Pleas Without Written Agreements
54 of the 55 people (98%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. Of the guilty pleas, 35% had a written plea agreement and 65% were straight pleas with no agreement.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 30 months. The one trial case received 36 months, and a single case cannot be compared with the pleas. No mandatory minimum prison term applied to anyone (0%).
Supervision, Fines, and Criminal History
54 people (98%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 60 months. 1 person (2%) received supervised release for life. No fine and no restitution was ordered (0%).
On criminal history, 5% were in the lowest category and 25% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so these shares cannot be set beside military cases.
Yearly Counts
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 28 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 27 people. Yearly counts in the table range from 1 to 8 people. Medians range from 18 months in fiscal year 2020 to 37 months in fiscal year 2019.
Counts this small do not show a trend. The records cannot show why any year differed from another.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 6 | 24 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2017 | 8 | 24 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2018 | 7 | 33 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2019 | 7 | 37 months | 6 of 7 |
| 2020 | 5 | 18 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2021 | 7 | 30 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2022 | 1 | 30 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2023 | 7 | 21 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2024 | 3 | 30 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2025 | 4 | 27 months | 4 of 4 |
What the Records Cannot Show
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it. The records do not describe the underlying conduct in any case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Iowa (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Iowa South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" (55). 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 Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, 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.