> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the Eastern District of Missouri, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-sexual-abuse-sentences-eastern-district-of-missouri/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:36:01.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:36:00.000Z - Description: All 166 people sentenced for sexual abuse offenses in the Eastern District of Missouri in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 200 months (16.7 years), which is higher than the 180 months for all 94 federal districts. 130 of the 166 (78%) were subject to a mandatory minim - 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 Eastern District of Missouri, FY201](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-missouri/) › Sexual Abuse: Eastern District of Missouri **In brief:** All 166 people sentenced for sexual abuse offenses in the Eastern District of Missouri in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 200 months (16.7 years), which is higher than the 180 months for all 94 federal districts. 130 of the 166 (78%) were subject to a mandatory minimum. 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 166 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/). ## A Median Prison Term of 200 Months None of the 166 people (0%) received probation only. The median prison term was 200 months (16.7 years). A quarter received 300 months or more, and a quarter received 120 months or less. For all districts, the median was 180 months, and the median for all offenses in the Eastern District of Missouri was 46 months. These cases were 2% of the 9,425 people sentenced in the district. ## Mandatory Minimums and the Guideline Range A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 130 of the 166 people (78%). Within the guideline range were 50 sentences (30%). Below the range at the government's request were 88 (53%), and below it without a request were 22 (13%). Above it were 6 (4%). Across all districts, the share within the range was 41%. The share for every offense type in this district together was 42%. ## Supervised Release for Life Every one of the 166 people (100%) was ordered to serve supervised release after prison. The median term was 120 months. Lifetime supervision was ordered for 144 people (87%). Only 1 person (less than 1%) was ordered to pay a fine, and 36 (22%) were ordered to pay restitution. ## Pleas Compared With Trials 156 of the 166 people (94%) pleaded guilty. The other 10 were convicted after a trial. The share pleading guilty was 90% in all districts. Every guilty plea (100%) came with a written plea agreement. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 188 months. After a trial it was 330 months, based on 10 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. The records do not show how serious each case was, so the gap cannot be traced to the plea. ## Guidelines Used in These Cases "Sexual Abuse" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type, assigned from the primary guideline in each case. The most common was §2G2.1 (Sexually Exploiting a Minor by Production of Sexually Explicit Visual or Printed Material), for 109 people. Next was §2G1.3 (Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with a Minor), for 51, and §2A3.1 (Criminal Sexual Abuse), for 6\. In criminal history, 69% were in the lowest category and 4% in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. ## Yearly Counts and Limits Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 42 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 124\. Yearly counts range from 6 to 29, and yearly medians in the table run from 137.5 months to 260 months. Small yearly counts do not establish a trend. Only people who were convicted and sentenced appear here, so acquittals and dismissals are missing. Each prison term is the term imposed by the court, not the time actually served. Nothing in the records explains why yearly medians differ. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 6 | 144 months | 6 of 6 | | 2017 | 14 | 137.5 months | 79% | | 2018 | 7 | 240 months | 7 of 7 | | 2019 | 15 | 198 months | 100% | | 2020 | 10 | 150 months | 90% | | 2021 | 23 | 225 months | 96% | | 2022 | 29 | 180 months | 97% | | 2023 | 13 | 138 months | 92% | | 2024 | 26 | 240 months | 96% | | 2025 | 23 | 260 months | 91% | ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Missouri (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Missouri East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Sexual Abuse" (166). 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 Eastern District of Missouri, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-missouri/) (overview) - [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Missouri, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-eastern-district-of-missouri/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Missouri, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-eastern-district-of-missouri/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Missouri, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-eastern-district-of-missouri/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Eastern District of Missouri, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-child-pornography-sentences-eastern-district-of-missouri/) (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.