Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025
In the Western District of Missouri, 244 of the 245 people sentenced for sexual abuse offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 216 months (18 years), compared with 180 months for all 94 federal districts. 6 people received a life sentence.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY201 › Sexual Abuse: Western District of Missouri
In brief: In the Western District of Missouri, 244 of the 245 people sentenced for sexual abuse offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 216 months (18 years), compared with 180 months for all 94 federal districts. 6 people received a life sentence.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 245 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.
Some of the Longest Terms in the District
Among those sent to prison, a quarter received 300 months or more, and a quarter received 153 months or less. 1 person (less than 1%) received probation only. For all districts, more than 99% of the 12,095 people in this offense type were sent to prison.
For all offenses in this district, the median prison term was 72 months. Sexual abuse terms were much longer than the district's overall median.
Which Guidelines Were Used
The Sexual Abuse offense type is assigned by the U.S. Sentencing Commission from each case's primary guideline. In this district, the guideline used most often was §2G2.1 (Sexually Exploiting a Minor by Production of Sexually Explicit Visual or Printed Material), for 159 people.
Next were §2G1.3 (Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with a Minor) for 65, §2A3.1 (Criminal Sexual Abuse) for 10, and §2G2.6 (Child Exploitation Enterprises) for 6. The 245 cases were 3% of the 7,571 people sentenced in the district.
Mandatory Minimums Applied in Most Cases
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 209 of the 245 people with that information recorded (85%).
Of the 245 sentences, 38% (92) were within the guideline range. 32% (79) were below it without a government request, and 26% (63) were below it at the government's request. 4% (11) were above it. For all districts, 41% were within the range. For all offenses in this district, 38% were.
Pleas and Trials
236 of 245 people (96%) pleaded guilty, and 9 were convicted after a trial. Across all districts, 90% pleaded guilty. Among guilty pleas, 82% had a written plea agreement and 18% were straight pleas.
The median prison term was 216 months after a guilty plea and 470 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 9 people convicted at trial and sent to prison.
Supervised Release for Life
244 people (more than 99%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison. The median term was 120 months, and 93 people (38%) received supervised release for life.
Restitution was ordered for 58 (24%), and a fine for 5 (2%). In criminal history, 73% were in category I, the lowest, and 2% in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Counts and Medians
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 96 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 149. Yearly counts range from 18 to 36. The table lists medians from 180 months to 270 months, with 270 months in fiscal year 2025.
Counts of 18 to 36 people are small, and the records cannot show why yearly medians differ.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 24 | 240 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 18 | 208 months | 94% |
| 2018 | 21 | 240 months | 90% |
| 2019 | 33 | 184 months | 97% |
| 2020 | 20 | 180 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 18 | 240 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 25 | 240 months | 96% |
| 2023 | 36 | 180 months | 97% |
| 2024 | 27 | 240 months | 93% |
| 2025 | 23 | 270 months | 96% |
Limits of This Data
Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are not, and the terms shown are as imposed rather than served.
Fort Leonard Wood and Whiteman AFB are in this district. Courts-martial there are held in military courts and are outside these federal figures.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Missouri (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Missouri West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Sexual Abuse" (245). 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 Missouri, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, 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.