Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025
All 162 people sentenced for sexual abuse offenses in the Central District of Illinois in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 180 months, or 15 years, the same as the median for this offense type across all 94 districts.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY201 › Sexual Abuse: Central District of Illinois
In brief: All 162 people sentenced for sexual abuse offenses in the Central District of Illinois in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 180 months, or 15 years, the same as the median for this offense type across all 94 districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 162 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.
A Median Equal to the National Figure
The district's median prison term in the "Sexual Abuse" category was 180 months. A quarter of the 162 people received 270 months or more, and a quarter received 120 months or less. A life sentence was imposed on 2 people.
Across all 94 districts, 12,095 people were sentenced in this category, and the median was also 180 months. For all offenses in the district, the median prison term was 70 months.
Mandatory Minimums Were Common
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 151 of the 162 people, or 93%. Supervised release followed prison for all 162, with a median term of 120 months.
Supervised release for life was ordered for 35 people (22%).
Guilty Pleas and Trials
Of the 162 people, 135 (83%) pleaded guilty and 27 were convicted after a trial. Across all districts, 90% pleaded guilty, and for all offenses in the district the figure was 94%.
The median prison term was 180 months after a guilty plea and 180 months after a trial. Among the guilty pleas, 75% had a written plea agreement and 23% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Guidelines Used in These Cases
"Sexual Abuse" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's own category, and it is assigned from the primary guideline. Several of the guideline titles refer to a minor.
The most common guideline was §2G1.3 (Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with a Minor), with 83 people. Next were §2G2.1 (Sexually Exploiting a Minor by Production of Sexually Explicit Visual or Printed Material) with 73 and §2G2.6 (Child Exploitation Enterprises) with 4.
One person had §2G1.1 (Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with an Individual Other than a Minor). These cases were 7% of the 2,440 people sentenced in the district.
Sentences Against the Guideline Range
Below the range at the government's request were 35% (57 people), and below the range without a government request were 31% (51). Within the range were 30% (48 people), and above the range were 4% (6).
Across all districts, 41% of sentences in this category were within the range, and for all offenses in the district the figure was 36%. The district's within-range share was lower than the first figure and also lower than the second.
Counts and Medians by Year
The federal fiscal year begins on October 1 and ends the following September. In fiscal years 2016 to 2019, 32 people were sentenced, and in fiscal years 2020 to 2025 there were 130.
The yearly median was 330 months in fiscal year 2019 and 120 months in fiscal year 2022, when 39 people were sentenced. Counts in the early years were 4 to 12 people. The records cannot show why the medians changed.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 12 | 255 months | 58% |
| 2017 | 8 | 300 months | 6 of 8 |
| 2018 | 4 | 240 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2019 | 8 | 330 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2020 | 8 | 232 months | 7 of 8 |
| 2021 | 27 | 180 months | 85% |
| 2022 | 39 | 120 months | 90% |
| 2023 | 17 | 148 months | 82% |
| 2024 | 22 | 180 months | 73% |
| 2025 | 17 | 180 months | 88% |
Fines, Restitution, and Criminal History
A fine was ordered for 2 people (1%), and restitution for 20 (12%). In criminal history, 65% were in the lowest category, category I, and 4% were in the highest, category VI.
Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Limits of the Data
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it, and prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
The records do not describe the facts of any case or explain why a sentence was chosen.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Central District of Illinois (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Illinois Cent") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Sexual Abuse" (162). 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.
Mandatory minimum sentences. Many federal statutes on drugs, images of child exploitation, child sex abuse, and firearms carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The UCMJ has mandatory minimums only for a few offenses (a dishonorable discharge or dismissal for rape and sexual assault, and life for premeditated murder). Federal sentences for these offenses are partly set by Congress, not by the judge.
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 Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, 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.