Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the Western District of Washington, FY2016–2025
The Western District of Washington sentenced 152 people for sexual abuse offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Almost all, 151 (more than 99%), received a prison term, and the median was 120 months (10 years). The national median for this offense type was 180 months.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Western District of Washington, FY2 › Sexual Abuse: Western District of Washington
In brief: The Western District of Washington sentenced 152 people for sexual abuse offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Almost all, 151 (more than 99%), received a prison term, and the median was 120 months (10 years). The national median for this offense type was 180 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 152 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.
A Median Prison Term of 10 Years
The Sentencing Commission's "Sexual Abuse" offense type includes more than one kind of case, as the guidelines below show. In this district it has 152 people. 151 of them received a prison term, and 0 received probation only. 1 person received a life sentence.
The median prison term was 120 months (10 years). A quarter received 201 months or more, and a quarter received 60 months or less. These are the terms imposed, not time served.
Shorter Than the National Median
Nationally, 12,095 people fall in this offense type, and more than 99% went to prison. The national median prison term was 180 months, which is higher than 120 months here. The district's median for every offense type together was 30 months.
Sexual abuse cases were 4% of the 3,992 people sentenced in the district.
Supervision After Prison
Supervised release followed prison for 151 people (more than 99%). The median term was 180 months, and 41 people (27%) were ordered to serve it for life.
A fine was ordered for 1 person (less than 1%), and restitution for 92 (61%).
Which Guidelines Applied
The Commission assigns each case a primary guideline. The most common here was §2G2.1 (Sexually Exploiting a Minor by Production of Sexually Explicit Visual or Printed Material), with 67 people.
Next were §2G1.3 (Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with a Minor) with 26 people, §2A3.1 (Criminal Sexual Abuse) with 22, and §2A3.4 (Abusive Sexual Contact or Attempt to Commit Abusive Sexual Contact) with 21.
Mandatory Minimums and the Guideline Range
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 86 of the 150 people with that information recorded (57%).
Most sentences were below the guideline range. 88 people (58%) were below it at the government's request, and 30 (20%) were below it without that request. 31 (20%) were within it, and 3 (2%) were above it. Nationally, 41% were within the range, and for all offenses in this district the figure is 35%.
Trials Were More Common Than in Other Cases Here
136 people (89%) pleaded guilty, and 16 were convicted after a trial. For all offenses in the district, guilty pleas were 97%. The national rate for this offense type was 90%. Among the pleas here, 99% had a written plea agreement.
The median prison term was 120 months after a plea and 150 months after a trial. The trial figure covers 16 people. The records do not show whether the charges in the plea and trial groups were alike.
Criminal History, Years, and Limits
64% of these people were in the lowest criminal history category, and 3% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 57 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 95. Yearly counts run from 8 to 26, and fiscal year 2025 has the most. Medians run from 84.5 to 180 months. Counts this small do not show a trend.
Bremerton, Washington and Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington are in this district. Courts-martial are heard in military courts. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the federal data.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 18 | 96 months | 89% |
| 2017 | 18 | 132 months | 89% |
| 2018 | 12 | 84.5 months | 92% |
| 2019 | 9 | 144 months | 8 of 9 |
| 2020 | 8 | 120 months | 7 of 8 |
| 2021 | 11 | 87 months | 91% |
| 2022 | 15 | 120 months | 93% |
| 2023 | 17 | 180 months | 94% |
| 2024 | 18 | 132 months | 89% |
| 2025 | 26 | 120 months | 85% |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Washington (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Washington West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Sexual Abuse" (152). 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 Washington, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Washington, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Other Offense Sentences in the Western District of Washington, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Washington, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Washington, 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.