Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025
All 97 people sentenced for sexual abuse offenses in the District of Massachusetts in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median prison term was 180 months (15 years), the same as the median across all 94 federal districts for this offense type. A mandatory minimum applied to 81 of
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2 › Sexual Abuse: District of Massachusetts
In brief: All 97 people sentenced for sexual abuse offenses in the District of Massachusetts in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median prison term was 180 months (15 years), the same as the median across all 94 federal districts for this offense type. A mandatory minimum applied to 81 of the 97.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 97 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 of 180 Months, Same as All Districts
"Sexual Abuse" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type for these cases. In this district, 97 people were sentenced, and 97 (100%) received a prison term. None received probation only.
The median prison term was 180 months. A quarter received 240 months or more, and a quarter received 135 months or less. Across all 94 districts, 12,095 people were sentenced for sexual abuse, and the median was also 180 months.
All offenses in the District of Massachusetts had a median prison term of 30 months, which is lower than the 180 months for this offense type.
Which Guidelines Were Used
The Commission sorts each case by its primary guideline. The most common here was §2G2.1 (Sexually Exploiting a Minor by Production of Sexually Explicit Visual or Printed Material), with 51 people. Next was §2G1.3 (Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with a Minor), with 25.
Then came §2G1.1 (Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with an Individual Other than a Minor), with 13, and §2A3.1 (Criminal Sexual Abuse), with 4. Sexual abuse cases were 2% of the 4,847 people sentenced in the district.
Mandatory Minimums
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 81 of the 97 people with that information recorded (84%). A mandatory minimum is a prison term set by statute that a court generally cannot go below.
The records do not show how a mandatory minimum affected any single sentence.
Position Against the Guideline Range
Of the 97 people with the information, 16 (16%) were sentenced within the guideline range. A total of 50 (52%) were below the range at the government's request, and 28 (29%) were below it without a government request. Another 3 (3%) were above the range.
For this offense type in all districts, 41% were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 29%.
Pleas, Trials, and Supervised Release
A total of 86 of 97 people (89%) pleaded guilty, and 11 were convicted after a trial. In all districts, 90% pleaded guilty. The median prison term was 180 months after a guilty plea and 180 months after a trial.
Among guilty pleas, 67% had a written plea agreement and 33% were straight pleas. After prison, 96 people (99%) were ordered to serve supervised release. The median term was 60 months, and 5 (5%) received supervised release for life.
A fine was ordered for 2 people (2%), and restitution for 36 (37%). On criminal history, 57% were in the lowest category and 8% in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Years Are Small and Uneven
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 30 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 67. A fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30.
Each year has between 4 and 16 people, so one year's median can move a lot. The median was 360 months in 2021 and 127.5 months in 2017. Counts this small do not show a trend.
The share who pleaded guilty was 69% in 2024, the lowest in the table.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 8 | 180 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2017 | 12 | 127.5 months | 92% |
| 2018 | 6 | 210 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2019 | 4 | 193.5 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2020 | 9 | 186 months | 8 of 9 |
| 2021 | 9 | 360 months | 8 of 9 |
| 2022 | 11 | 144 months | 91% |
| 2023 | 10 | 234 months | 100% |
| 2024 | 16 | 180 months | 69% |
| 2025 | 12 | 180 months | 83% |
What the Data Leaves Out
The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are not here. Prison terms are the ones imposed, not time served, and the records give no facts about the underlying cases.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Massachusetts (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Massachusetts") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Sexual Abuse" (97). 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 Massachusetts, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, 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.