Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025
49 of the 386 people sentenced for sexual abuse in the District of South Dakota in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 were convicted after a trial, and their median prison term was 292 months. The median after a guilty plea was 120 months. For all sexual abuse cases in the district, the median prison term wa
· Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–20 › Sexual Abuse: District of South Dakota
In brief: 49 of the 386 people sentenced for sexual abuse in the District of South Dakota in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 were convicted after a trial, and their median prison term was 292 months. The median after a guilty plea was 120 months. For all sexual abuse cases in the district, the median prison term was 120 months (10 years), lower than the 180 months across all 94 federal districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 386 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.
Trial and Plea Sentences
337 of 386 people (87%) pleaded guilty, and 49 were convicted after a trial. Guilty pleas were less common here than for all offenses in the district (95%), but about the same as across all 94 districts for this offense type (90%).
The median prison term was 120 months after a guilty plea and 292 months after a trial. The figures describe pleas and trials as groups. They do not show whether a trial changed any person's sentence.
Prison Terms and Life Sentences
383 of the 386 (more than 99%) received a prison term. A quarter received 196 months or more, and a quarter received 36 months or less. 7 received a life sentence.
Across all 94 districts, 12,095 people were sentenced for sexual abuse, and the median was 180 months. For all offenses in the District of South Dakota, the median was 36 months. These cases are 8% of the 5,041 people sentenced in the district.
Mandatory Minimums and the Guideline Range
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 132 of the 385 people with that information recorded (34%).
62% of sentences (239) were within the advisory guideline range. 12% (47) were below it at the government's request, 22% (83) were below it without a government request, and 4% (17) were above it. Across all districts, 41% of sentences for this offense type were within the range.
Which Guidelines Were Used
The Commission's category "Sexual Abuse" includes several guidelines. The most common was §2A3.1 (Criminal Sexual Abuse), used in 152 cases. §2G1.3 (Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with a Minor) was used in 73 cases.
§2A3.2 (Criminal Sexual Abuse of a Minor Under the Age of Sixteen Years (Statutory Rape) or Attempt to Commit Such Acts) was used in 59, and §2G2.1 (Sexually Exploiting a Minor by Production of Sexually Explicit Visual or Printed Material) in 55.
The Yearly Pattern
133 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 253 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The yearly median prison term was 60 months in fiscal year 2016 and 49 months in fiscal year 2017. It was 120 months or more in each year from fiscal year 2020 to 2025.
The guilty plea share ranged from 79% in fiscal year 2021 to 97% in fiscal year 2017. The records do not show what caused the changes in the medians.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 32 | 60 months | 94% |
| 2017 | 32 | 49 months | 97% |
| 2018 | 33 | 77.5 months | 94% |
| 2019 | 36 | 108 months | 81% |
| 2020 | 32 | 120 months | 88% |
| 2021 | 33 | 120 months | 79% |
| 2022 | 38 | 120.5 months | 89% |
| 2023 | 42 | 120 months | 86% |
| 2024 | 57 | 132 months | 84% |
| 2025 | 51 | 120.5 months | 86% |
Supervised Release and Other Orders
378 people (98%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 60 months. 22 (6%) received supervised release for life.
A fine was ordered for 4 (1%), and restitution for 40 (10%). In criminal history, 60% were in the lowest category I and 3% in the highest VI.
What the Records Cannot Show
The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are not in the data. Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota is in this district, but courts-martial are tried in military courts and are not part of these figures.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of South Dakota (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "South Dakota") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Sexual Abuse" (386). 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 South Dakota, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Assault Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Obscenity and Other Sex Offense Sentences in the District of South 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.