Federal Obscenity and Other Sex Offense Sentences in the Western District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025
In the Western District of Wisconsin, 14 people were sentenced for obscenity and other sex offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2024. 13 (93%) received a prison term, with a median of 22 months. For all 94 districts the median was 18 months.
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In brief: In the Western District of Wisconsin, 14 people were sentenced for obscenity and other sex offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2024. 13 (93%) received a prison term, with a median of 22 months. For all 94 districts the median was 18 months.
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 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.
Registration Cases Make Up Most of This Category
"Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. In this district, 13 of the 14 cases had the primary guideline §2A3.5 (Failure to Register as a Sex Offender). The other case had §2G3.1 (Importing, Mailing, or Transporting Obscene Matter).
Because nearly all the cases share one guideline, the figures below mostly describe failure-to-register cases. These cases were less than 1% of the 1,403 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Prison Terms Compared With All Districts
13 of the 14 people (93%) received a prison term, and 1 (7%) received probation only.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 22 months. A quarter received 27 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less.
For all 94 federal districts together, the offense type had 3,595 people, 95% sent to prison, and a median prison term of 18 months. The median in this district was higher. For all offenses in this district, the median prison term was 59.5 months.
Where Sentences Fell Against the Range
43% (6 people) were sentenced within the guideline range. 21% (3) were below the range at the government's request, and 21% (3) were below the range without a government request. 14% (2) were above the range.
Within the range was 54% for all 94 districts in this offense type and 32% for all offenses in this district. No one had a mandatory minimum prison term, based on 14 people with that information recorded.
Guilty Pleas
All 14 (100%) pleaded guilty. None were convicted after a trial. 93% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 7% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Guilty pleas were 99% for all 94 districts in this offense type.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
13 people (93%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, and the median term was 60 months. A fine was ordered for 2 (14%). Restitution was ordered for 0 (0%).
29% were in the highest criminal history category, and 7% were in the lowest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Fiscal Years With Cases
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 8 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 6 people. Only 5 fiscal years have any rows in the table, with 1 to 5 people each. The sheet's date range ends in fiscal year 2024. Counts this small do not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 5 | 24 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2019 | 3 | 28.5 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2020 | 3 | 14 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2023 | 1 | 15 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2024 | 2 | 10.5 months | 2 of 2 |
Limits of the Records
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 records do not show the facts behind a registration violation or why any sentence was set as it was.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Wisconsin (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Wisconsin 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 (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 Wisconsin, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Wisconsin, 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.