Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the District of North Dakota, FY2016–2025
All 192 people sentenced for sexual abuse in the District of North Dakota in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term, with a median of 120 months (10 years). That is lower than the 180 months for this offense type across all 94 districts. Guilty pleas were less common here (91%) than across
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of North Dakota, FY2016–20 › Sexual Abuse: District of North Dakota
In brief: All 192 people sentenced for sexual abuse in the District of North Dakota in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term, with a median of 120 months (10 years). That is lower than the 180 months for this offense type across all 94 districts. Guilty pleas were less common here (91%) than across all offenses in the district (97%), and 18 people were convicted after a trial.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 192 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.
Trials and the Length of Prison Terms
Of the 192 people, 174 (91%) pleaded guilty, and 18 were convicted after a trial. Across all 94 districts, 90% of people in this type pleaded guilty. For all offenses in the district, the guilty plea rate was 97%.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 78 months. After a trial it was 360 months, based on 18 people. The records cannot show how much of the gap comes from the trial itself, because the groups may differ in other ways.
Prison Terms for the Whole Group
Every one of the 192 people (100%) received prison. The median prison term was 120 months. A quarter received 33 months or less, and a quarter received 262.5 months or more. A life sentence was imposed on 6 people.
For all offenses in the District of North Dakota, the median prison term was 36 months. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 59 of the 190 people with that information recorded (31%).
Which Guidelines Applied?
The offense type is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's "Sexual Abuse" category. The Commission groups cases by primary guideline, and 4 guidelines were the most common here.
There were 62 cases under §2A3.1 (Criminal Sexual Abuse) and 34 under §2A3.4 (Abusive Sexual Contact or Attempt to Commit Abusive Sexual Contact). Another 33 fell under §2A3.2 (Criminal Sexual Abuse of a Minor Under the Age of Sixteen Years (Statutory Rape) or Attempt to Commit Such Acts), and 32 under §2G2.1 (Sexually Exploiting a Minor by Production of Sexually Explicit Visual or Printed Material).
Sexual abuse cases were 6% of the 3,337 people sentenced in the district.
Supervised Release for Life
Supervised release after prison was ordered for all 192 people (100%). The median term was 60 months, and 50 people (26%) received supervised release for life.
A fine was ordered for 2 people (1%), and restitution for 42 people (22%).
Where Sentences Fell Against the Guideline Range
The sentence was within the guideline range for 101 people (53%). It was below the range at the government's request for 55 people (29%) and below it without a government request for 22 people (11%). It was above the range for 14 people (7%).
Across all 94 districts, 41% of sentences for this type were within the range, and for all offenses in this district the figure was 34%. Among guilty pleas, more than 99% had a written plea agreement. In the lowest criminal history category, category I, were 58% of the people, and 4% were in the highest, category VI.
Yearly Counts and Medians
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 84 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 108 people. A fiscal year starts on October 1 and ends the following September.
The yearly medians range from 42 months in 2018 and 2019 to 300 months in 2024. The 2024 median is based on 13 people, and 2020 had 9. The records cannot show why the medians differ, and the table does not establish a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 27 | 168 months | 81% |
| 2017 | 13 | 64 months | 92% |
| 2018 | 25 | 42 months | 84% |
| 2019 | 19 | 42 months | 95% |
| 2020 | 9 | 120 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2021 | 22 | 174 months | 86% |
| 2022 | 27 | 180 months | 93% |
| 2023 | 22 | 104 months | 100% |
| 2024 | 13 | 300 months | 85% |
| 2025 | 15 | 120 months | 100% |
Limits of These Numbers
The data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced. Cases that ended in acquittal or dismissal are not counted, and the sheet gives no facts about any case.
Grand Forks AFB and Minot AFB, both in North Dakota, are in this district. Courts-martial are held in military courts, and these figures do not describe them.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of North Dakota (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "North Dakota") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Sexual Abuse" (192). 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 North Dakota, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of North Dakota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of North Dakota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of North Dakota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Assault Sentences in the District of North Dakota, 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.