Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the Southern District of Indiana, FY2016–2025
In the Southern District of Indiana, 175 of the 177 people sentenced for sexual abuse offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median prison term was 300 months (25 years). For all 94 federal districts, the median in this offense type was 180 months.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Indiana, FY201 › Sexual Abuse: Southern District of Indiana
In brief: In the Southern District of Indiana, 175 of the 177 people sentenced for sexual abuse offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median prison term was 300 months (25 years). For all 94 federal districts, the median in this offense type was 180 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 177 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.
A Median Prison Term of 300 Months
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 300 months. A quarter received 420 months or more, and a quarter received 219 months or less. 1 person received a life sentence.
The median for all 94 districts was 180 months, so the median here was higher. For all offenses in the Southern District of Indiana, the median was 70 months. These are terms imposed, not time served.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 12 | 300 months | 92% |
| 2017 | 11 | 213.5 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 14 | 300 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 23 | 280 months | 91% |
| 2020 | 24 | 297.5 months | 96% |
| 2021 | 23 | 292 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 27 | 324 months | 96% |
| 2023 | 16 | 300 months | 100% |
| 2024 | 17 | 360 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 10 | 455 months | 100% |
The Commission's Offense Type and Its Guidelines
"Sexual Abuse" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. In this district, most cases fell under §2G2.1 (Sexually Exploiting a Minor by Production of Sexually Explicit Visual or Printed Material), with 146 people. Next was §2G1.3 (Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with a Minor), with 27 people.
Smaller groups were sentenced under §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact), with 3 people, and §2A3.3 (Criminal Sexual Abuse of a Ward or Attempt to Commit Such Acts), with 1 person.
Sentences Below the Guideline Range Were Common
Only 25% of sentences (45 people) were within the advisory guideline range. 54% (96 people) were below the range at the government's request. 18% (31 people) were below the range without a government request, and 3% (5 people) were above it.
For all 94 districts, 41% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in this district, it was 43%.
Mandatory Minimums and Pleas
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 164 of the 177 people (93%). 172 people (97%) pleaded guilty, and 5 were convicted after a trial. For all 94 districts, 90% pleaded guilty.
The median prison term was 300 months after a guilty plea and 470 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on only 5 people. Among those who pleaded guilty, 97% had a written plea agreement and 3% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution
175 people (99%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison. The median term was 120 months, and 62 people (35%) received supervised release for life.
A fine was ordered for 27 people (15%), and restitution for 131 (74%). In criminal history, 68% were in the lowest category, category I, and 3% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Place in the District's Caseload and Over Time
Sexual abuse cases were 4% of the 4,205 people sentenced in this district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 60 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 117 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025.
Yearly counts ranged from 10 to 27 people. The yearly medians in the table are higher in fiscal years 2024 and 2025, at 360 and 455 months, but the counts are small. The records cannot show whether that is a lasting change.
What the Records Cannot Show
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it. It does not describe the facts of any case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Indiana (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Indiana South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Sexual Abuse" (177). 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 Southern District of Indiana, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Indiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Indiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Indiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the Southern District of Indiana, 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.