Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025
All 173 people sentenced for sexual abuse offenses in the Southern District of Iowa in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median prison term was 240 months (20 years), compared with 180 months across all 94 federal districts. 5 people received a life sentence.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2 › Sexual Abuse: Southern District of Iowa
In brief: All 173 people sentenced for sexual abuse offenses in the Southern District of Iowa in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median prison term was 240 months (20 years), compared with 180 months across all 94 federal districts. 5 people received a life sentence.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 173 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 of 240 Months
The median prison term was 240 months. A quarter of the people received 360 months or more, and a quarter received 144 months or less. The median for all offenses in the Southern District of Iowa was 80 months.
Every one of the 173 people (100%) was sent to prison, and none received probation only. Across all 94 districts, more than 99% of people in this offense type were sent to prison. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
Mandatory Minimums
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 152 of the 173 people (88%). A mandatory minimum sets a lowest prison term that a court must impose unless a legal exception applies.
Sentences within the guideline range were 84 people (49%). 46 (27%) were below the range at the government's request, 32 (18%) were below it without a request, and 11 (6%) were above it. In all 94 districts, 41% of sentences for this offense type were within the range.
Which Guidelines Applied
The most common primary guideline was §2G2.1 (Sexually Exploiting a Minor by Production of Sexually Explicit Visual or Printed Material), with 104 people. Next was §2G1.3 (Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with a Minor), with 56 people.
§2G1.1 (Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with an Individual Other than a Minor) applied to 11 people, and §2A3.1 (Criminal Sexual Abuse) to 2. These cases were 4% of the 4,208 people sentenced in the district.
Pleas and Trials
159 of the 173 people (92%) pleaded guilty, and 14 were convicted after a trial. In all 94 districts, 90% of people in this offense type pleaded guilty.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 216 months. After a trial, it was 345 months, based on 14 people. The groups are not matched, so the records cannot show what a trial changed. 93% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 7% were straight pleas.
Supervised Release for Life
172 people (more than 99%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 96 months. 17 people (10%) received supervised release for life.
Restitution was ordered for 55 people (32%). No fine was ordered (0%). On criminal history, 53% were in the lowest category, and 5% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Counts and Medians
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 66 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 107 people. Yearly counts in the table range from 8 to 27 people.
The median prison term was 168 months in fiscal year 2016 and 324 months in fiscal year 2025. The table shows higher medians in the later years. The records cannot show why, and each year rests on 8 to 27 people, so the table is a record of counts and not a finding about cause.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 15 | 168 months | 87% |
| 2017 | 18 | 212.5 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 13 | 240 months | 85% |
| 2019 | 20 | 182.5 months | 95% |
| 2020 | 8 | 165.5 months | 7 of 8 |
| 2021 | 16 | 210 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 21 | 270 months | 90% |
| 2023 | 20 | 297.5 months | 90% |
| 2024 | 27 | 292 months | 85% |
| 2025 | 15 | 324 months | 100% |
What the Records Cannot Show
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it. The records do not describe the offenses beyond the guideline title, and they do not explain any sentence.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Iowa (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Iowa South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Sexual Abuse" (173). 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 Iowa, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Southern 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.