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# Federal Obscenity and Other Sex Offense Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-obscenity-other-sex-offenses-sentences-western-district-of-north-carolina/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:02:32.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:02:31.000Z
- Description: All 14 people in the U.S. Sentencing Commission's "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" category in the Western District of North Carolina were sentenced under one guideline, §2A3.5 (Failure to Register as a Sex Offender). Of the 14, 13 (93%) received a prison term, with a median of 24 months. The median f
- 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 Western District of North Carolina,](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-north-carolina/) › Obscenity and Other Sex Offense: Western District of North Carolina

**In brief:** All 14 people in the U.S. Sentencing Commission's "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" category in the Western District of North Carolina were sentenced under one guideline, §2A3.5 (Failure to Register as a Sex Offender). Of the 14, 13 (93%) received a prison term, with a median of 24 months. The median for this offense type in all 94 districts was 18 months.

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 14 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/).

## One Guideline Covers the Whole Group

The Commission assigns each case to an offense type from its primary sentencing guideline. The type is named "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses." In this district, every case in it used §2A3.5 (Failure to Register as a Sex Offender).

The category name therefore does not describe the cases here. These 14 cases were less than 1% of the 4,904 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.

## Prison Terms Compared With All Districts

Of the 14 people, 13 (93%) received a prison term, and none received probation only. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 24 months, or 2 years. A quarter received 27 months or more, and a quarter received 10 months or less.

In all 94 districts, the Commission counted 3,595 people in this offense type. Of those, 95% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 18 months. The median here was higher. For all offense types in this district, the median was 57 months.

## Straight Pleas Were the Norm

All 14 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. The rate for all districts was 99%.

Among guilty pleas, 21% had a written plea agreement and 79% were straight pleas with no agreement. A straight plea is a guilty plea with no written agreement with the government.

## Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums

The guideline range is the range calculated under the federal sentencing guidelines. Of the 14 people, 10 (71%) were sentenced within it. Another 2 (14%) were below the range without a government request, and 1 (7%) was below it at the government's request. A total of 1 (7%) was above the range.

In all districts, 54% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. For all offense types in this district, 53% were within the range. No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 14.

## Yearly Counts and Medians

The district sentenced 9 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 5 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. Yearly counts ranged from 1 to 3 people.

The medians were between 18 and 31.5 months through fiscal year 2020\. In fiscal years 2024 and 2025, the medians were 10 months and 7 months. Each of those years has 1 person, so the numbers do not show a trend.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 1                | 27 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2017        | 3                | 18 months     | 3 of 3         |
| 2018        | 2                | 27 months     | 2 of 2         |
| 2019        | 3                | 24 months     | 3 of 3         |
| 2020        | 2                | 31.5 months   | 2 of 2         |
| 2023        | 1                | 27 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2024        | 1                | 10 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2025        | 1                | 7 months      | 1 of 1         |

## Supervised Release and Criminal History

Supervised release after prison was ordered for 13 people (93%). The median term was 60 months, and 1 person (7%) received supervised release for life.

No fine or restitution was ordered. In criminal history, 14% were in the lowest category (category I) and 29% were in the highest (category VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## What the Records Do Not Cover

The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. The data does not describe the prior offense that created the duty to register.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of North Carolina (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "N Carolina West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" (14). 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 Western District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-north-carolina/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-western-district-of-north-carolina/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-western-district-of-north-carolina/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-western-district-of-north-carolina/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-western-district-of-north-carolina/) (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.