Federal Obscenity and Other Sex Offense Sentences in the Western District of Washington, FY2016–2025
In the Western District of Washington, 17 of 18 people sentenced under the Commission's obscenity and other sex offenses type in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 had failure to register as a sex offender as the primary guideline. 17 (94%) received a prison term, with a median of 8 months.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Western District of Washington, FY2 › Obscenity and Other Sex Offense: Western District of Washington
In brief: In the Western District of Washington, 17 of 18 people sentenced under the Commission's obscenity and other sex offenses type in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 had failure to register as a sex offender as the primary guideline. 17 (94%) received a prison term, with a median of 8 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 18 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 Registration Cases
The Sentencing Commission's "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" type is a mixed category. In this district, 17 of the 18 people had §2A3.5 (Failure to Register as a Sex Offender) as the primary guideline. 1 person had §2G3.1 (Importing, Mailing, or Transporting Obscene Matter).
The category is the Commission's own, and it mixes different kinds of cases. The guidelines named here define the grouping, and the sheet lists no others. These cases were less than 1% of the 3,992 people sentenced in the district.
Prison Terms
17 of 18 people (94%) received a prison term, and 1 (6%) received probation only. The median prison term was 8 months. A quarter received 12 months or more, and a quarter received 0 months or less.
Nationally, 3,595 people fall in this type. 95% went to prison, and the median was 18 months, which is higher than 8 months here. For every offense type in the district together, the median was 30 months. These are terms imposed, not time served.
All 18 Pleaded Guilty
18 of 18 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and 0 were convicted after a trial. Every plea had a written plea agreement. Nationally, guilty pleas were 99%, and for all offenses in the district they were 97%.
With no trials, the data has no plea-versus-trial comparison.
Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums
5 people (28%) were within the guideline range. 9 (50%) were below it at the government's request, and 4 (22%) were below it without a request. None were above it.
Nationally, 54% were within the range. For all offenses in this district, it is 35%. A mandatory minimum applied to 0 of the 18 people.
Supervision and Prior Record
17 people (94%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 60 months. A fine was ordered for 1 (6%), and restitution for 0.
17% were in the lowest criminal history category, and 6% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Counts and Limits
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 10 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 8. Fiscal year 2016 had 6, and no other year had more than 3. Several years have no row. Counts this small do not show a trend.
The installations Bremerton, Washington and Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington sit within the district, and military trials take place in military courts. The federal data includes only convictions, so it leaves out acquittals and dismissals. It also does not describe the facts of any case, and prison terms are those imposed, not time served.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 6 | 10 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2017 | 1 | 24 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2018 | 2 | 6.6 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2019 | 1 | 18 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2020 | 3 | 0 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2021 | 2 | 12 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2023 | 1 | 11.4 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2025 | 2 | 3 months | 2 of 2 |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Washington (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Washington West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" (18). 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 Washington, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Washington, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Other Offense Sentences in the Western District of Washington, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Washington, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Washington, 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.