Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025
All 98 people sentenced in the "Sexual Abuse" offense type in the Western District of Louisiana in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term, and 28 (29%) also received supervised release for life. The median prison term was 207 months (17.2 years), compared with 180 months across all 94 fede
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In brief: All 98 people sentenced in the "Sexual Abuse" offense type in the Western District of Louisiana in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term, and 28 (29%) also received supervised release for life. The median prison term was 207 months (17.2 years), compared with 180 months across all 94 federal districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 98 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.
Supervised Release for Life
All 98 people (100%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison. The median term was 120 months, and 28 people (29%) received supervised release for life.
Supervised release is a period of court supervision after a person leaves prison. A fine was ordered for 3 (3%), and restitution for 31 (32%).
Prison Terms
Among the 98 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 207 months. A quarter received 300 months or more, and a quarter received 121 months or less. 3 people received a life sentence.
For all districts, 12,095 people were sentenced in this type, and the median was 180 months. The district's median for all offenses was 60 months. The records give imposed terms, not time served.
Mandatory Minimums and Plea Agreements
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 84 of the 98 people (86%).
A total of 87 people (89%) pleaded guilty, and 11 were convicted after a trial. Every guilty plea (100%) included a written plea agreement.
The median prison term was 180 months after a guilty plea and 360 months after a trial, based on 11 people. The records do not show how the cases differed.
The Guidelines in This Group
"Sexual Abuse" is the Commission's offense type for cases grouped by the main guideline used at sentencing, and it covers several kinds of cases. The most common guideline was §2G2.1 (Sexually Exploiting a Minor by Production of Sexually Explicit Visual or Printed Material), with 73 cases.
Next were §2G1.3 (Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with a Minor) with 16, §2A3.1 (Criminal Sexual Abuse) with 6, and §2A3.2 (Criminal Sexual Abuse of a Minor Under the Age of Sixteen Years (Statutory Rape) or Attempt to Commit Such Acts) with 2.
These cases were 3% of the 3,011 people sentenced in the district.
Position Against the Guideline Range
Within the guideline range were 73 sentences (74%). 8 (8%) were below the range at the government's request, 13 (13%) were below it without one, and 4 (4%) were above it.
Nationally, 41% of sentences in this type were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 67%.
By criminal history, 69% were in the lowest category, category I, and 2% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Counts and Nearby Installations
There were 29 people from fiscal year 2016 to 2019 and 69 from 2020 to 2025. Each year in the table has between 2 and 16 people, and medians run from 144 months in 2021 to 280 months in 2019. Counts this small should not be read as trends.
Barksdale AFB and Fort Polk are in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court, and these numbers do not describe them. The Commission data also leave out acquittals and dismissals.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 6 | 149 months | 5 of 6 |
| 2017 | 14 | 150.5 months | 71% |
| 2018 | 7 | 150 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2019 | 2 | 280 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2020 | 8 | 251 months | 7 of 8 |
| 2021 | 7 | 144 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2022 | 13 | 240 months | 85% |
| 2023 | 13 | 240 months | 92% |
| 2024 | 12 | 207 months | 92% |
| 2025 | 16 | 225 months | 94% |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Louisiana (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Louisiana West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Sexual Abuse" (98). 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 Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, 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.