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# Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the District of Vermont, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-sexual-abuse-sentences-district-of-vermont/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:13:11.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:13:11.000Z
- Description: 26 people were sentenced for sexual abuse offenses in the District of Vermont in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and all 26 received a prison term. The median prison term was 117 months, or 9.8 years. For this offense type in all 94 districts, the median 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 Vermont, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-vermont/) › Sexual Abuse: District of Vermont

**In brief:** 26 people were sentenced for sexual abuse offenses in the District of Vermont in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and all 26 received a prison term. The median prison term was 117 months, or 9.8 years. For this offense type in all 94 districts, the median 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 26 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/).

## Mandatory Minimums Applied to Most People

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 16 of the 26 people (62%). A mandatory minimum is a floor set by statute for a particular offense. The Commission's "Sexual Abuse" type was 2% of the 1,619 people sentenced in the district.

All 26 people (100%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 120 months. 1 person (4%) received supervised release for life. A fine was ordered for 1 person (4%), and restitution for 9 (35%).

## Prison Terms

The median prison term was 117 months. A quarter of the group received 165.2 months or more, and a quarter received 78.5 months or less. No one received probation only.

Across all 94 districts, the Commission counts 12,095 people. More than 99% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 180 months. The Vermont median was lower than the national median. It was also above the district's median of 18 months for all offenses.

## Primary Guidelines

This category is mostly made up of offenses involving minors. §2G2.1 (Sexually Exploiting a Minor by Production of Sexually Explicit Visual or Printed Material) was the primary guideline for 17 people. §2G1.3 (Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with a Minor) applied to 8\. §2G1.1 (Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with an Individual Other than a Minor) applied to 1.

## Sentences Against the Guideline Range

19% of sentences (5 people) were within the guideline range. 46% (12) were below the range at the government's request, 31% (8) were below the range without a government request, and 4% (1) was above the range.

For sexual abuse in all districts, 41% of sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 21%.

## Pleas and Trials

23 of 26 people (88%) pleaded guilty, and 3 were convicted after a trial. For this offense type in all districts, 90% pleaded guilty. Each of the guilty pleas came with a written plea agreement.

The median prison term was 100 months after a guilty plea and 180 months after a trial. Only 3 people were convicted at trial, so that number describes those cases alone.

## Criminal History and Yearly Counts

73% of the group were in criminal history category I, and 4% were in category VI. There is no matching criminal history measure in court-martial records.

Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 9 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 17\. The federal fiscal year starts October 1 and ends in September. Yearly counts are between 1 and 5 people, and the medians run from 60 months in 2025 to 183 months in 2020\. With so few people per year, no pattern can be read from the table.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 5                | 120 months    | 4 of 5         |
| 2018        | 2                | 96 months     | 2 of 2         |
| 2019        | 2                | 96 months     | 2 of 2         |
| 2020        | 2                | 183 months    | 1 of 2         |
| 2021        | 1                | 121 months    | 1 of 1         |
| 2022        | 5                | 180 months    | 4 of 5         |
| 2023        | 2                | 177.5 months  | 2 of 2         |
| 2024        | 4                | 85 months     | 4 of 4         |
| 2025        | 3                | 60 months     | 3 of 3         |

## What the Records Cannot Show

Only people who were convicted and sentenced appear here. The terms are those imposed by the court, not the time actually served, and no case facts are included.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Vermont (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Vermont") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Sexual Abuse" (26). 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 Vermont, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-vermont/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Vermont, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-vermont/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Vermont, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-vermont/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Vermont, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-district-of-vermont/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Vermont, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-vermont/) (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.