Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the Western District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025
In the Western District of Arkansas, 91 people were sentenced for sexual abuse offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and all 91 received a prison term. The median was 234 months, or 19.5 years. 5 people received a life sentence.
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In brief: In the Western District of Arkansas, 91 people were sentenced for sexual abuse offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and all 91 received a prison term. The median was 234 months, or 19.5 years. 5 people received a life sentence.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 91 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.
Very Long Prison Terms
The median prison term for the 91 people was 234 months. A quarter received 360 months or more, and a quarter received 129.5 months or less. 5 people received a life sentence.
For all 94 districts, the median in this offense type was 180 months, which is lower than the median here. The median for all offenses in this district was 72 months.
Prison terms are those imposed by the court, not time served.
What "Sexual Abuse" Covers Here
"Sexual Abuse" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's category for these cases. Many of the cases in it are under guidelines for offenses involving minors.
The most common primary guideline was §2G2.1 (Sexually Exploiting a Minor by Production of Sexually Explicit Visual or Printed Material), with 50 people. Next was §2G1.3 (Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with a Minor), with 35 people.
Only 5 people had §2A3.1 (Criminal Sexual Abuse) and 1 person had §2A3.4 (Abusive Sexual Contact or Attempt to Commit Abusive Sexual Contact).
Mandatory Minimums and Guideline Ranges
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 78 of the 90 people with that information recorded (87%).
The sentence was within the guideline range for 45 people (49%). It was below the range without a government request for 35 people (38%), and at the government's request for 5 people (5%). It was above the range for 6 people (7%).
For all districts, 41% of sentences in this offense type were within the range.
Guilty Pleas and Trials
88 of 91 people (97%) pleaded guilty, and 3 were convicted after a trial. The all-district plea rate was 90%.
The median prison term was 234.5 months after a guilty plea and 210 months after a trial. The trial figure rests on 3 people, so it cannot support a comparison.
Among the guilty pleas, 99% had a written plea agreement.
Supervised Release and Other Orders
90 people (99%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison. The median term was 120 months, and 16 people (18%) received supervised release for life.
A fine was ordered for 36 people (40%), and restitution for 17 people (19%).
In criminal history, 70% were in the lowest category, category I, and 7% were in the highest, category VI.
Yearly Counts
These cases were 4% of the 2,185 people sentenced in the district. Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 51 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 40 people.
Each year had 20 people or fewer, and 2025 had 3. The yearly medians range from 180 months to 415 months. Counts this small do not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 20 | 180 months | 95% |
| 2017 | 15 | 235 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 6 | 255.5 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2019 | 10 | 236 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 7 | 210 months | 5 of 7 |
| 2021 | 10 | 190 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 6 | 415 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2023 | 5 | 360 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2024 | 9 | 269.7 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2025 | 3 | 188 months | 3 of 3 |
Limits of the Data
The data counts only people convicted and sentenced. It does not include acquittals or dismissals.
It also does not describe the facts of any case. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so the criminal history numbers cannot be compared with military cases.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Arkansas (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Arkansas West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Sexual Abuse" (91). 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 Western District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Arkansas, 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.