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# Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the Northern District of Florida, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-sexual-abuse-sentences-northern-district-of-florida/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:14:15.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:14:15.000Z
- Description: All 139 people sentenced for sexual abuse offenses in the Northern District of Florida in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median prison term was 192 months, or 16 years, and 4 people received a life sentence. A mandatory minimum applied to 132 of the 139 people (95%).
- 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 Northern District of Florida, FY201](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-florida/) › Sexual Abuse: Northern District of Florida

**In brief:** All 139 people sentenced for sexual abuse offenses in the Northern District of Florida in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median prison term was 192 months, or 16 years, and 4 people received a life sentence. A mandatory minimum applied to 132 of the 139 people (95%).

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 139 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/).

## Every Person Received Prison, and Terms Were Long

The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 139 people in the "Sexual Abuse" offense type for this district. 139 of 139 (100%) received a prison term, and none received probation only.

The median prison term was 192 months. A quarter received 300 months or more, and a quarter received 120 months or less. 4 people received a life sentence.

These cases were 5% of the 2,768 people sentenced in the district across these fiscal years. For all offenses in the district, the median prison term was 48 months.

## Comparison With All 94 Districts

Across all 94 districts, this offense type had 12,095 people. More than 99% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 180 months. The median here is a little higher than the national median.

Guilty pleas were less common here than nationally: the district rate was 83%, compared with 90% for this offense type across all districts. For all offenses in the district, the rate was 93%.

## Which Guidelines Applied

"Sexual Abuse" is the Commission's name for an offense type, and it covers several guidelines. In this district, the most common were about offenses involving minors.

73 people had §2G2.1 (Sexually Exploiting a Minor by Production of Sexually Explicit Visual or Printed Material) as their primary guideline. 55 had §2G1.3 (Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with a Minor).

Smaller groups had §2A3.3 (Criminal Sexual Abuse of a Ward or Attempt to Commit Such Acts), with 4 people, and §2A3.1 (Criminal Sexual Abuse), with 2 people.

## Mandatory Minimums and the Guideline Range

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 132 of the 139 people (95%). The sentence was within the guideline range for 44% (61), below the range at the government's request for 14% (20), and below the range without a government request for 37% (51). 5% (7) were above the range.

Nationally, 41% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in the district, 44% were. The district's share within the range for this offense type is about the same as its share for all offenses.

## Pleas and Trials

115 of 139 people (83%) pleaded guilty, and 24 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 192 months after a guilty plea and 186 months after a trial.

The medians are close, and the trial figure is not higher than the plea figure. Among guilty pleas, 97% had a written plea agreement and 3% were straight pleas with no agreement.

## Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History

All 139 people (100%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison. The median term was 120 months, and 57 people (41%) received supervised release for life.

A fine was ordered for 6 people (4%), and restitution for 28 (20%). 58% were in the lowest criminal history category and 6% in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Yearly Counts and Military Courts

Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 54 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 85\. The yearly counts run from 8 to 27 people, so single-year medians reflect small groups. The medians in the table range from 120 months in 2019 to 276 months in 2024.

Eglin AFB, Hurlburt Field, Pensacola, and Tyndall AFB, all in Florida, are installations in this district that appear in this site's court-martial data. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court. The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 15               | 144 months    | 80%            |
| 2017        | 12               | 126.5 months  | 100%           |
| 2018        | 16               | 192 months    | 63%            |
| 2019        | 11               | 120 months    | 82%            |
| 2020        | 8                | 198 months    | 4 of 8         |
| 2021        | 16               | 242.5 months  | 81%            |
| 2022        | 27               | 180 months    | 89%            |
| 2023        | 13               | 264 months    | 85%            |
| 2024        | 11               | 276 months    | 100%           |
| 2025        | 10               | 216 months    | 90%            |

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Florida (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Florida North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Sexual Abuse" (139). 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 Northern District of Florida, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-florida/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Florida, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-northern-district-of-florida/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Florida, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-northern-district-of-florida/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Florida, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-northern-district-of-florida/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Florida, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-northern-district-of-florida/) (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.