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# Federal Prison Offense Sentences in the District of Puerto Rico, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-prison-offenses-sentences-district-of-puerto-rico/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:31:18.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:31:18.000Z
- Description: 19 people were sentenced in the District of Puerto Rico for prison offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 15 (79%) received a prison term, compared with 96% for all 94 districts. The median prison term was 10 months, the same as the median for all districts.
- 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 District of Puerto Rico, FY2016–202](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-puerto-rico/) › Prison Offense: District of Puerto Rico

**In brief:** 19 people were sentenced in the District of Puerto Rico for prison offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. 15 (79%) received a prison term, compared with 96% for all 94 districts. The median prison term was 10 months, the same as the median for all districts.

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 19 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/).

## Contraband and Escape Cases

"Prison Offenses" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type for crimes tied to prisons and custody, assigned from the primary guideline in each case. Only 2 guidelines appear in this district's cases.

§2P1.2 (Providing or Possessing Contraband in Prison) was the primary guideline for 11 people. §2P1.1 (Escape, Instigating or Assisting Escape) was the primary guideline for 6\. These cases were less than 1% of the 9,794 people sentenced in the district.

## Prison Terms Compared With All Districts

Of the 19 people, 15 (79%) were sent to prison, and 3 (16%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. For all districts, 96% of people sentenced for prison offenses were sent to prison, so the Puerto Rico share was lower.

The median prison term was 10 months. A quarter received 15.2 months or more, and a quarter received 4.5 months or less. The median for all offenses in Puerto Rico was 60 months.

## Guideline Range

Within the range were 9 sentences (47%). Below the range at the government's request were 5 (26%), and below it without a request were 4 (21%). Above the range was 1 sentence (5%).

For all districts, 63% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in Puerto Rico, 54% were. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 19 people (0%).

## Guilty Pleas and the One Trial

18 of the 19 people (95%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. For all districts, 99% pleaded guilty. Among guilty pleas, 83% had a written plea agreement and 17% were straight pleas.

After a guilty plea, the median prison term was 10.5 months. For the 1 person convicted at trial and sent to prison, it was 9 months. A single case cannot show how trials compare with pleas.

## Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History

Supervised release after prison was ordered for 13 people (68%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 1 person (5%), and restitution for 1 (5%).

In criminal history, 47% were in the lowest category and 0% in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Yearly Counts and Limits

Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 5 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 14\. No year had more than 4 people. The yearly medians in the table range from 0 months to 87 months, and counts this small are not trends.

The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it, and prison terms are those imposed, not time served. The records cannot show why the share sent to prison differs from the national figure.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 1                | 0 months      | 1 of 1         |
| 2018        | 1                | 0.2 months    | 1 of 1         |
| 2019        | 3                | 87 months     | 3 of 3         |
| 2020        | 1                | 8 months      | 1 of 1         |
| 2021        | 4                | 12.2 months   | 4 of 4         |
| 2022        | 2                | 12 months     | 2 of 2         |
| 2023        | 4                | 9.5 months    | 3 of 4         |
| 2024        | 1                | 14 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2025        | 2                | 24 months     | 2 of 2         |

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Puerto Rico (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Puerto Rico") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Prison Offenses" (19). 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 District of Puerto Rico, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-puerto-rico/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Puerto Rico, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-puerto-rico/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Puerto Rico, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-puerto-rico/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Puerto Rico, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-district-of-puerto-rico/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Puerto Rico, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-puerto-rico/) (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.