Federal Obscenity and Other Sex Offense Sentences in the Southern District of New York, FY2016–2025
The Southern District of New York sentenced 36 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 under the Commission's offense type "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses". 33 of them were sentenced under the guideline for failure to register as a sex offender. The median prison term was 9 months, and the same offense ty
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Southern District of New York, FY20 › Obscenity and Other Sex Offense: Southern District of New York
In brief: The Southern District of New York sentenced 36 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 under the Commission's offense type "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses". 33 of them were sentenced under the guideline for failure to register as a sex offender. The median prison term was 9 months, and the same offense type had a median of 18 months across all 94 federal districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 36 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.
Mostly Failure to Register Cases
The offense type is the Commission's label, and the records place each case under its primary guideline. §2A3.5 (Failure to Register as a Sex Offender) was the primary guideline for 33 people.
§2G3.1 (Importing, Mailing, or Transporting Obscene Matter) was the primary guideline for 3 people. Any figure for this offense type in this district is mainly a figure for the first guideline.
These cases were less than 1% of the 12,035 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Prison Terms
35 of the 36 people (97%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 9 months. A quarter received 20.5 months or more, and a quarter received 1 month or less.
In all districts together, 3,595 people were sentenced for this offense type, 95% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 18 months. Here the median is lower. For all offenses in this district, the median prison term was 33 months.
The terms are those imposed, not time served.
Plea Agreements Were Less Common
32 of 36 people (89%) pleaded guilty, and 4 were convicted after a trial. For all districts the guilty plea rate was 99%.
Among the guilty pleas, 38% had a written plea agreement, and 63% were straight pleas with no agreement. The median prison term was 9.5 months after a guilty plea and 5 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 3 people.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 36 people.
Below the Guideline Range
Most sentences were below the guideline range. 64% (23) were below it without a government request, and 3% (1) were below it at the government's request. 33% (12) were within the range, and none was above it.
Across all districts, 54% of sentences for this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the share was 22%.
Counts by Fiscal Year
33 of the 36 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 3 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The table has rows only for fiscal years 2016 through 2020 and 2025.
The largest single year was fiscal year 2016, with 12 people. Yearly medians range from 3.5 months to 16.5 months and rest on groups of 1 to 12 people. The records cannot show what accounts for the counts.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 12 | 8 months | 83% |
| 2017 | 6 | 16.5 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2018 | 8 | 3.5 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2019 | 7 | 11 months | 6 of 7 |
| 2020 | 2 | 7 months | 1 of 2 |
| 2025 | 1 | 5 months | 1 of 1 |
Other Penalties and What the Records Leave Out
34 people (94%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 60 months. A fine was ordered for 1 person (3%), and restitution for none.
Criminal history category I, the lowest, applied to 11% of the people, and category VI, the highest, applied to 8%. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
The data covers people who were convicted and sentenced only. It does not include acquittals or dismissals, and it does not describe individual cases.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of New York (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New York South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" (36). 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 New York, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the Southern District of New York, 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.