Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025
All 163 people sentenced for sexual abuse offenses in the Middle District of Pennsylvania in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 210 months (17.5 years), compared with 180 months across all 94 districts. A mandatory minimum applied to 156 of the 163 people (96%).
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY › Sexual Abuse: Middle District of Pennsylvania
In brief: All 163 people sentenced for sexual abuse offenses in the Middle District of Pennsylvania in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 210 months (17.5 years), compared with 180 months across all 94 districts. A mandatory minimum applied to 156 of the 163 people (96%).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 163 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.
Mandatory Minimums Applied in Almost Every Case
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 156 of the 163 people with that information recorded (96%).
Statutes set mandatory minimums. The records show whether one applied, not how it shaped a given sentence.
The 163 cases were 4% of the 4,067 people sentenced in the district in these fiscal years.
Prison Terms
All 163 people (100%) received a prison term. None received probation only.
The median prison term was 210 months. A quarter received 300 months or more, and a quarter received 120 months or less. Across all districts, 12,095 people were in this offense type, and the median was 180 months. For all offenses in this district, the median was 46 months.
Time served is not in the records.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 7 | 135 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2017 | 11 | 360 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 17 | 240 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 21 | 200 months | 81% |
| 2020 | 11 | 180 months | 91% |
| 2021 | 16 | 195 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 17 | 192 months | 94% |
| 2023 | 17 | 180 months | 94% |
| 2024 | 21 | 240 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 25 | 200 months | 96% |
Guidelines Used
"Sexual Abuse" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type, grouped by the primary sentencing guideline. In this district, §2G2.1 (Sexually Exploiting a Minor by Production of Sexually Explicit Visual or Printed Material) was listed for 99 people.
§2G1.3 (Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with a Minor) was listed for 55. §2G1.1 (Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with an Individual Other than a Minor) was listed for 9.
Guilty Pleas and Trials
155 of 163 people (95%) pleaded guilty, and 8 were convicted after a trial. Across all districts, 90% pleaded guilty.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 204 months. After a trial it was 330 months, based on 8 people.
Written plea agreements accompanied 97% of guilty pleas, and straight pleas were 3%.
Position Against the Guideline Range
Sentences within the guideline range were 37% of the cases (60 people). Below the range without a government request were 38% (62 people), and below the range at the government's request were 25% (41 people). None was above the range.
For sexual abuse offenses across all districts, 41% were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 47%.
Long Supervised Release
All 163 people (100%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison. The median term was 120 months, and 6 people (4%) received supervised release for life.
A fine was ordered for 19 people (12%), and restitution for 49 (30%).
Criminal history category I covered 72% of the group, and category VI covered 4%. Military records have no equivalent field.
Yearly Counts and Limits of the Data
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 56 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 107. Yearly counts range from 7 to 25 people, and medians range from 135 months in 2016 to 360 months in 2017. These are small groups, and the table does not show a steady direction.
People who were acquitted or whose cases were dismissed are not in the totals. The facts of the cases are also absent.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Middle District of Pennsylvania (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Penn. Mid") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Sexual Abuse" (163). 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 Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, 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.