Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the Northern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025
In the Northern District of Iowa, all 62 people sentenced for sexual abuse offenses received a prison term, and the median was 240 months (20 years). For all 94 federal districts the median was 180 months. A mandatory minimum applied to 54 of the 62 people (87%).
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In brief: In the Northern District of Iowa, all 62 people sentenced for sexual abuse offenses received a prison term, and the median was 240 months (20 years). For all 94 federal districts the median was 180 months. A mandatory minimum applied to 54 of the 62 people (87%).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 62 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.
Median Prison Term in This District and Across All Districts
All 62 people (100%) received a prison term. The median was 240 months. A quarter received 360 months or more, and a quarter received 171 months or less.
In all districts, 12,095 people were sentenced for sexual abuse offenses, more than 99% were sent to prison, and the median was 180 months. The Iowa median is higher. For all offense types in the Northern District of Iowa, the median was 60 months. The terms are those imposed, not time served.
Which Guidelines Were Used
"Sexual Abuse" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type, and it covers more than one kind of case. In this district, the primary guideline was §2G2.1 (Sexually Exploiting a Minor by Production of Sexually Explicit Visual or Printed Material) for 44 people.
It was §2G1.3 (Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with a Minor) for 14, §2A3.1 (Criminal Sexual Abuse) for 3, and §2A3.2 (Criminal Sexual Abuse of a Minor Under the Age of Sixteen Years (Statutory Rape) or Attempt to Commit Such Acts) for 1. These cases were 2% of the 3,479 people sentenced in the district over the period.
Mandatory Minimums and the Guideline Range
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 54 of the 62 people (87%). A mandatory minimum is a floor set by statute.
A total of 35% (22) were sentenced within the guideline range. Another 29% (18) were below the range at the government's request, and 26% (16) were below it without a government request. 10% (6) were above the range. In all districts, 41% of sentences were within the range, and for all offenses in this district the figure was 53%.
Guilty Pleas and Trials
A total of 53 people (85%) pleaded guilty, and 9 were convicted after a trial. In all districts, 90% pleaded guilty, and for all offenses in this district the figure was 96%.
The median prison term was 240 months after a guilty plea and 292 months after a trial, based on 9 people. Among guilty pleas, 94% had a written plea agreement, and 6% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Supervised Release and Other Orders
Supervised release after prison was ordered for all 62 people (100%), with a median term of 60 months. 2 people (3%) received supervised release for life. A fine was ordered for 4 (6%), and restitution for 13 (21%).
In criminal history, 63% were in the lowest category I and 3% were in the highest category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so this post reports federal numbers on their own.
Small Yearly Counts
The Commission data for this offense type in this district starts in fiscal year 2017. The group has 17 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 45 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. A fiscal year runs from October 1 through the end of September.
Yearly counts are 4 to 9 people. The table shows a median of 162 months in 2022 and 427 months in 2019, but with so few people, these figures do not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 5 | 240 months | 4 of 5 |
| 2018 | 8 | 210 months | 7 of 8 |
| 2019 | 4 | 427 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2020 | 9 | 180 months | 8 of 9 |
| 2021 | 7 | 300 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2022 | 8 | 162 months | 6 of 8 |
| 2023 | 7 | 300 months | 5 of 7 |
| 2024 | 6 | 288 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2025 | 8 | 368 months | 6 of 8 |
What the Records Cannot Show
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. It does not show the facts of any case, the number of victims, or why a sentence was above or below the guideline range.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Iowa (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Iowa North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Sexual Abuse" (62). 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 Northern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Iowa, 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.