Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025
In the District of Maryland, 216 of the 217 people sentenced for sexual abuse offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term, and 78% had a mandatory minimum apply. The median prison term was 204 months (17 years), compared with 180 months for this offense type in all 94 federal distri
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025 › Sexual Abuse: District of Maryland
In brief: In the District of Maryland, 216 of the 217 people sentenced for sexual abuse offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term, and 78% had a mandatory minimum apply. The median prison term was 204 months (17 years), compared with 180 months for this offense type in all 94 federal districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 217 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.
Mandatory Minimums and Long Terms
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 169 of the 217 people (78%). Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 204 months (17 years). A quarter received 300 months or more, and a quarter received 120 months or less.
One person received a life sentence. For this offense type in all 94 districts, the median prison term was 180 months, and more than 99% were sent to prison. For all offenses in the District of Maryland, the median was 48 months.
Where Sentences Fell Against the Guideline Range
The largest group, 138 people (64%), was sentenced below the guideline range at the government's request. Another 39 (18%) were below it without a government request. Within the range were 36 (17%), and 4 (2%) were above it.
For sexual abuse in all 94 districts, 41% of sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 31%. The share within the range was lower in Maryland sexual abuse cases than in either group.
What Is in the Sexual Abuse Category?
"Sexual Abuse" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type, and cases are sorted into it by primary guideline. The most common was §2G2.1 (Sexually Exploiting a Minor by Production of Sexually Explicit Visual or Printed Material), with 134 people. Next was §2G1.3 (Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with a Minor), with 62.
Then came §2G1.1 (Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with an Individual Other than a Minor), with 12, and §2A3.1 (Criminal Sexual Abuse), with 5. Sexual abuse cases were 4% of the 6,044 people sentenced in the district.
Guilty Pleas and Trials
Of the 217 people, 203 (94%) pleaded guilty, and 14 were convicted after a trial. In all 94 districts, 90% of sexual abuse cases ended in a guilty plea. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 95%.
The median prison term was 200 months after a guilty plea and 324 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 13 people. More than 99% of guilty pleas had a written plea agreement.
Supervised Release for Life
After prison, 216 people (more than 99%) were ordered to serve supervised release. The median term was 180 months, and 97 people (45%) received supervised release for life.
A fine was ordered for 2 people (less than 1%), and restitution for 77 (35%). In criminal history, 64% were in the lowest category and 5% in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Year-by-Year Medians
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 104 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 113. The yearly counts in the table are small, between 11 and 33 people. The median prison term was 174 months in fiscal year 2016 and 276 months in fiscal year 2025.
Those yearly groups are too small to call a trend. A fiscal year begins in October and ends the following September.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 16 | 174 months | 88% |
| 2017 | 33 | 180 months | 94% |
| 2018 | 25 | 192 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 30 | 198 months | 93% |
| 2020 | 11 | 240 months | 91% |
| 2021 | 12 | 165 months | 92% |
| 2022 | 20 | 198 months | 95% |
| 2023 | 24 | 228 months | 100% |
| 2024 | 21 | 216 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 25 | 276 months | 80% |
What the Data Cannot Tell
Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. The terms are those imposed at sentencing, not time served, and no case facts are included.
Fort Meade, Maryland, and Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, are in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, which are outside this federal district court.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Maryland (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Maryland") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Sexual Abuse" (217). 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 District of Maryland, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Maryland, 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.