Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025
All 312 people sentenced for sexual abuse offenses in the Southern District of Texas in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 200 months (16.7 years), and 11 people received a life sentence. A mandatory minimum applied to 77% of the people with that information recorded.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016– › Sexual Abuse: Southern District of Texas
In brief: All 312 people sentenced for sexual abuse offenses in the Southern District of Texas in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 200 months (16.7 years), and 11 people received a life sentence. A mandatory minimum applied to 77% of the people with that information recorded.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 312 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.
Every Person Received Prison
Of the 312 people, 312 (100%) received a prison term, and none received probation only. The median prison term was 200 months. A quarter received 360 months or more, and a quarter received 120 months or less. A life sentence was imposed on 11 people.
Across all 94 federal districts, 12,095 people were sentenced for sexual abuse offenses, and the median prison term was 180 months. The median in this district was higher than the national one. For all offenses in the Southern District of Texas, the median was 13 months.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 45 | 160 months | 91% |
| 2017 | 28 | 165.5 months | 89% |
| 2018 | 28 | 200 months | 86% |
| 2019 | 26 | 180 months | 96% |
| 2020 | 25 | 140 months | 92% |
| 2021 | 19 | 300 months | 89% |
| 2022 | 32 | 225 months | 97% |
| 2023 | 22 | 255 months | 91% |
| 2024 | 40 | 240 months | 93% |
| 2025 | 47 | 210 months | 98% |
Mandatory Minimums
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 240 of the 312 people with that information recorded (77%). A mandatory minimum is a floor that the law sets, and a judge can go below it only under a specific exception.
The data records whether a minimum applied, not which statute set it.
The Guidelines Behind These Cases
Sexual Abuse is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. Several primary guidelines account for most cases. §2G2.1 (Sexually Exploiting a Minor by Production of Sexually Explicit Visual or Printed Material) had 135 people, and §2G1.3 (Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with a Minor) had 130. §2A3.1 (Criminal Sexual Abuse) had 37.
A smaller group, 5 people, had §2A3.3 (Criminal Sexual Abuse of a Ward or Attempt to Commit Such Acts). These cases were less than 1% of the 71,026 people sentenced in the district.
Supervised Release, Including for Life
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 310 people (more than 99%), with a median term of 120 months. A total of 69 people (22%) received supervised release for life.
A fine was ordered for 9 people (3%) and restitution for 108 (35%). In criminal history, 70% were in the lowest category and 2% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Guilty Pleas and Trials
A total of 289 people (93%) pleaded guilty, and 23 were convicted after a trial. Nationally, 90% pleaded guilty. Among the guilty pleas here, 75% had a written plea agreement and 24% were straight pleas.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 192 months. After a trial, it was 360 months, based on 23 people. The records do not show how the cases in the plea and trial groups differed.
Sentences Against the Guideline Range
The guideline range is the sentencing range calculated under the Commission's guidelines. Of the 312 people, 53% (165) were sentenced within the range. Below the range at the government's request were 16% (50), and below it without a government request were 27% (85). Above the range were 4% (12).
Nationally, 41% of sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 58%.
Yearly Counts and What Is Not in the Data
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 127 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 185. The yearly medians in the table range from 140 months in fiscal year 2020 to 300 months in fiscal year 2021. Yearly groups have 19 to 47 people, so single-year medians can move with a few cases.
Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. Acquittals, dismissals, and uncharged cases are not in the data.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Texas (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Texas South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Sexual Abuse" (312). 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 Texas, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, 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.