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# Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the District of Delaware, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-sexual-abuse-sentences-district-of-delaware/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:13:17.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:13:17.000Z
- Description: All 25 people sentenced for sexual abuse offenses in the District of Delaware received a prison term, with a median of 192 months (16 years). The U.S. Sentencing Commission records cover fiscal years 2017 to 2025, and all 25 pleaded guilty. The median for all 94 districts was 180 months.
- 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 Delaware, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-delaware/) › Sexual Abuse: District of Delaware

**In brief:** All 25 people sentenced for sexual abuse offenses in the District of Delaware received a prison term, with a median of 192 months (16 years). The U.S. Sentencing Commission records cover fiscal years 2017 to 2025, and all 25 pleaded guilty. The median for all 94 districts was 180 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 25 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/).

## A Small Group With Long Prison Terms

The U.S. Sentencing Commission recorded 25 people sentenced in the District of Delaware under its offense type "Sexual Abuse" for fiscal years 2017 to 2025\. The Commission's category is broad, and the count includes only people who were convicted and sentenced.

25 of the 25 (100%) received a prison term, and none received probation only. The median prison term was 192 months, which is 16 years. A quarter received 262 months or more, and a quarter received 120 months or less.

Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.

## Compared With All Districts and With Delaware's Other Cases

Across all 94 districts, 12,095 people were sentenced in this category. More than 99% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 180 months. Delaware's median of 192 months is higher than that figure, though the Delaware group is small.

Sexual abuse cases were 3% of the 925 people sentenced in the district over the period. The median prison term for all offenses in the district was 27 months, so the median for this category is higher.

The guilty plea rate was 100% in Delaware, compared with 90% in all districts and 96% for all offenses in the district.

## Which Guidelines Applied

The Commission's category does not describe one single crime. The primary guidelines in the Delaware cases were these.

§2G2.1 (Sexually Exploiting a Minor by Production of Sexually Explicit Visual or Printed Material) applied to 19 people. §2G1.3 (Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with a Minor) applied to 5\. §2A3.2 applied to 1.

Most of the 25 people were therefore sentenced under a guideline for producing explicit material involving a minor, not under a guideline for contact offenses.

## Mandatory Minimums and the Guideline Range

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 21 of the 25 people (84%). That is a high share of the group. The records cannot show how much the minimums affected the terms.

Against the guideline range, 40% of sentences (10 people) were within the range. 36% (9 people) were below the range at the government's request, and 24% (6 people) were below it without a government request. No sentence was above the range. For all districts, 41% of sentences in this category were within the range.

## Supervised Release and Other Orders

All 25 people (100%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison. The median term was 120 months, and 1 person (4%) received supervised release for life.

No fine was ordered (0%). Restitution was ordered for 9 people (36%).

In criminal history, 80% were in the lowest category and 0% were in the highest. Among guilty pleas, 100% had a written plea agreement.

## Year Counts and What Is Not Known

Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 9 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 16\. The yearly table shows that no year had more than 7 people, and some years had 1\. A median based on 1 person is that person's sentence, so single-year figures are not a trend.

Dover AFB, Delaware is in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court, and the federal numbers are reported on their own.

The records do not show the facts of the cases, the number of people charged but not convicted, or the reasons for any sentence.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2017        | 1                | 360 months    | 1 of 1         |
| 2018        | 7                | 180 months    | 7 of 7         |
| 2019        | 1                | 192 months    | 1 of 1         |
| 2021        | 1                | 120 months    | 1 of 1         |
| 2022        | 7                | 235 months    | 7 of 7         |
| 2023        | 3                | 120 months    | 3 of 3         |
| 2024        | 1                | 114 months    | 1 of 1         |
| 2025        | 4                | 266.5 months  | 4 of 4         |

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Delaware (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Delaware") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Sexual Abuse" (25). 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](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 Delaware, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-delaware/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Delaware, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-delaware/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Delaware, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-district-of-delaware/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Delaware, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-delaware/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Delaware, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-delaware/) (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.