Federal Obscenity and Other Sex Offense Sentences in the Western District of New York, FY2016–2025
12 people in the Western District of New York were sentenced under the offense type "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses", with cases recorded in fiscal years 2017 to 2023. 10 of them (83%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 22.5 months. For all 94 federal districts together, the median
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Western District of New York, FY201 › Obscenity and Other Sex Offense: Western District of New York
In brief: 12 people in the Western District of New York were sentenced under the offense type "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses", with cases recorded in fiscal years 2017 to 2023. 10 of them (83%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 22.5 months. For all 94 federal districts together, the median for this offense type was 18 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 12 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.
Prison Terms Compared With the National Median
The median prison term in this district was 22.5 months, which is higher than the 18 months for all 94 districts. A quarter of the people sent to prison received 28.5 months or more, and a quarter received 20 months or less.
The median for every offense type in this district together was 41 months. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
Who Received Prison and Who Did Not
10 of the 12 people (83%) were sent to prison. 1 person (8%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. In all 94 districts, 95% of people sentenced under this offense type went to prison.
The offense type is a Sentencing Commission category that groups several kinds of cases, not a single statute. Together these cases were less than 1% of the 4,205 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Registration Violations Led the Guidelines
The leading primary guideline was §2A3.5 (Failure to Register as a Sex Offender), which applied to 7 people. The other named guideline was §2G3.1 (Importing, Mailing, or Transporting Obscene Matter), which applied to 4 people.
The records do not break the sentences down by guideline, so the prison terms above cannot be assigned to one kind of case.
Fewer Sentences Within the Range
3 of the 12 sentences (25%) were within the guideline range. Below-range sentences were divided evenly: 4 people (33%) with a government request, and 4 people (33%) without one. 1 sentence (8%) was above the range.
The within-range share was 54% for this offense type in all districts and 42% for all offenses in this district. Within-range sentences were less common here than in either group.
Guilty Pleas and Mandatory Minimums
Every one of the 12 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and each plea included a written plea agreement. The count of trial convictions was 0. The rate of guilty pleas for this offense type across all districts was 99%.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to none of the 12 people (0%).
Supervision and Financial Orders
After prison, 10 people (83%) were ordered to serve supervised release. The median term was 60 months. The court ordered no fines (0%) and no restitution (0%).
33% of the group were in the lowest criminal history category and 17% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so these shares cannot be set beside military cases.
Counts by Year
The yearly table lists the fiscal years with cases, and each has 1 to 4 people. Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 5 people in total, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 7.
The yearly medians run from 12 months in fiscal year 2017 to 37 months in fiscal year 2022. Numbers this small do not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 1 | 12 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2018 | 2 | 20.4 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2019 | 2 | 24 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2020 | 1 | 21 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2022 | 4 | 37 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2023 | 2 | 27 months | 2 of 2 |
Gaps in the Records
Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data. The records also leave out the conduct in each case and the reasons for each sentence.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of New York (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New York West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" (12). 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 Western District of New York, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western 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.