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# Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-sexual-abuse-sentences-eastern-district-of-pennsylvania/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:00:40.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:00:40.000Z
- Description: All 183 people sentenced for sexual abuse offenses in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 240 months (20 years), compared with 180 months for this offense type in all 94 federal districts. 4 people received a life sentence.
- 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 Pennsylvania, F](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-pennsylvania/) › Sexual Abuse: Eastern District of Pennsylvania

**In brief:** All 183 people sentenced for sexual abuse offenses in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 240 months (20 years), compared with 180 months for this offense type in all 94 federal districts. 4 people received a life sentence.

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 183 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/).

## The Length of Prison Terms

Every one of the 183 people (100%) was sent to prison. The median prison term was 240 months, or 20 years. A quarter received 180 months or less, and a quarter received 360 months or more. 4 people received a life sentence.

In all 94 federal districts, 12,095 people were sentenced in this offense type and the median prison term was 180 months. For all offenses in this district, the median was 42 months. Terms are the sentences imposed, not time served.

## Mandatory Minimums and Supervised Release for Life

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 170 of the 182 people with that information recorded (93%). A mandatory minimum is a statutory sentence floor.

182 people (more than 99%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 120 months. 53 people (29%) received supervised release for life.

## Pleas and Trials

163 people (89%) pleaded guilty, and 20 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 240 months. After a trial it was 360 months, based on 20 people.

Among the guilty pleas, 75% had a written plea agreement and 25% were straight pleas with no agreement. In all districts, 90% pleaded guilty, and for all offenses in this district, 94% did. The records cannot show whether the trial itself accounts for the longer median.

## What the Sexual Abuse Category Includes

"Sexual Abuse" is a U.S. Sentencing Commission offense type. The Commission assigns it from the primary guideline in each case, so it covers several kinds of offenses.

99 cases used §2G2.1 (Sexually Exploiting a Minor by Production of Sexually Explicit Visual or Printed Material). 68 used §2G1.3 (Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with a Minor). 6 used §2G2.6 (Child Exploitation Enterprises), and 5 used §2A3.1 (Criminal Sexual Abuse).

## Sentences Compared With the Guideline Range

The guideline range is the sentence range calculated under the Sentencing Guidelines. 30% of sentences (55) were within it. 36% (66) were below it at the government's request, and 31% (56) were below it without a government request. 3% (5) were above it.

In all districts, 41% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in this district, 34% were.

## Fines, Restitution, and Criminal History

A fine was ordered for 21 people (11%), and restitution for 79 (43%). 71% were in the lowest criminal history category, category I, and 3% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Yearly Counts and Medians

These cases were 3% of the 5,462 people sentenced in the district. Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 69 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 114.

The table shows a median of 300 months in 2023, the highest of any year, and 204 months in 2021, the lowest. Most years have 13 to 27 people, so one year's median can move with a few cases. The records cannot show why.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 13               | 210 months    | 85%            |
| 2017        | 16               | 210 months    | 100%           |
| 2018        | 18               | 240 months    | 89%            |
| 2019        | 22               | 213 months    | 95%            |
| 2020        | 26               | 225 months    | 92%            |
| 2021        | 21               | 204 months    | 81%            |
| 2022        | 14               | 225 months    | 86%            |
| 2023        | 27               | 300 months    | 74%            |
| 2024        | 13               | 276 months    | 100%           |
| 2025        | 13               | 265 months    | 100%           |

## What Cannot Be Learned Here

Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data. The records do not describe the facts of any case.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Penn. East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Sexual Abuse" (183). 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 Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-pennsylvania/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-eastern-district-of-pennsylvania/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-eastern-district-of-pennsylvania/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-eastern-district-of-pennsylvania/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-eastern-district-of-pennsylvania/) (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.