Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the Eastern District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025
All 39 people sentenced in the "Sexual Abuse" offense type in the Eastern District of Louisiana in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median prison term was 180 months (15 years), the same as the median for this offense type in all 94 federal districts. One person received a life
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of Louisiana, FY20 › Sexual Abuse: Eastern District of Louisiana
In brief: All 39 people sentenced in the "Sexual Abuse" offense type in the Eastern District of Louisiana in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median prison term was 180 months (15 years), the same as the median for this offense type in all 94 federal districts. One person received a life sentence.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 39 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.
Same Median as the National Group
The median prison term here was 180 months, which is 15 years. A quarter of the group received 266 months or more, and a quarter received 99 months or less.
In all 94 districts, 12,095 people were sentenced in this offense type, with a median prison term of 180 months and more than 99% sent to prison. The median for all offenses in this district was 60 months.
The Main Guidelines
"Sexual Abuse" is the Commission's category, and it groups cases by the main sentencing guideline. It is not one statute.
The most common guideline was §2G1.3 (Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with a Minor), with 16 cases. Next was §2A3.1 (Criminal Sexual Abuse), with 13 cases. Another was §2G2.1 (Sexually Exploiting a Minor by Production of Sexually Explicit Visual or Printed Material), with 10 cases.
Sentences Below the Guideline Range at the Government's Request
Sentences were below the guideline range at the government's request for 41% of the group (16 people). They were within the range for 33% (13 people), below it without a request for 21% (8 people), and above it for 5% (2 people).
In all 94 districts, 41% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in this district the figure was 56%.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 16 of the 39 people, which is 41%.
A Single Trial Conviction
Guilty pleas were 38 of 39 (97%), and 1 person was convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 180 months. The trial conviction came with 470 months.
One case does not show how trial and plea sentences differ in general. Every guilty plea (100%) had a written plea agreement. In all 94 districts, 90% of people in this offense type pleaded guilty.
Supervised Release for Life in Some Cases
All 39 people (100%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison. The median term was 96 months, and 8 people (21%) received supervised release for life.
A fine was ordered for 2 people (5%), and restitution for 22 (56%). In criminal history, 59% were in the lowest category and 8% in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Years With No Cases in the Data
Sexual Abuse cases were 1% of the 2,953 people sentenced in this district. Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 18 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 21 people.
Fiscal year 2016 had 12 people, and fiscal years 2024 and 2025 had 7 each. Some years do not appear in the table because they had no cases. With counts this small, the yearly medians do not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 12 | 180 months | 92% |
| 2017 | 2 | 162 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2018 | 3 | 60 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2019 | 1 | 121 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 1 | 262 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2023 | 6 | 255 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2024 | 7 | 108 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2025 | 7 | 220 months | 7 of 7 |
What Is Not in These Records
The Commission's data includes only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it. Prison terms are those imposed, not time served.
The records do not describe the facts of any case. This post reports federal numbers on their own.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Louisiana (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Louisiana East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Sexual Abuse" (39). 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 Eastern District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Louisiana, 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.