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# Federal Stalking and Harassment Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-stalking-harassing-sentences-central-district-of-illinois/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:15:54.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:15:54.000Z
- Description: In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 12 people were sentenced in the Central District of Illinois for stalking and harassing offenses. Of those, 10 (83%) received a prison term, with a median of 33 months (2.8 years), and 2 (17%) received probation only. That median is higher than the 24 months for all 94
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY201](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-central-district-of-illinois/) › Stalking and Harassment: Central District of Illinois

**In brief:** In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 12 people were sentenced in the Central District of Illinois for stalking and harassing offenses. Of those, 10 (83%) received a prison term, with a median of 33 months (2.8 years), and 2 (17%) received probation only. That median is higher than the 24 months for all 94 districts.

Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025

This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 12 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/).

## Prison Terms for Stalking and Harassing Offenses

Among the 10 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 33 months. A quarter received 48.8 months or more, and a quarter received 21.8 months or less. These are the terms imposed, not time served.

For all 94 districts, the median prison term in this offense type is 24 months, and 89% of people were sent to prison. In this district the median was higher and the share sent to prison was lower.

2 of the 12 people received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.

## What the Commission Counts as Stalking and Harassing

"Stalking/Harassing" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. The category in this district is mostly one guideline. The primary guideline was §2A6.1 (Threatening or Harassing Communications) for 11 people.

The other person's primary guideline was §2A6.2 (Stalking or Domestic Violence). The numbers here therefore mostly describe threatening or harassing communications cases.

## Pleas and Trial Convictions

Of the 12 people, 11 (92%) pleaded guilty and 1 was convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 24 months. The trial figure is 42 months, but it is based on 1 person and does not show a pattern.

Guilty pleas were 92% across all districts in this offense type, which is the same figure as here. For all offenses in this district the figure is 94%.

Among guilty pleas, 64% had a written plea agreement and 18% were straight pleas with no agreement. No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 12 people (0%).

## Sentences Against the Guideline Range

Of the 12 sentences, 3 (25%) were within the guideline range. Another 5 (42%) were below the range without a government request, and 2 (17%) were below the range at the government's request. 2 (17%) were above the range.

Within-range sentences were less common here than the 47% for all districts in this offense type. They were also less common than the 36% for all offenses in this district.

## Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History

Supervised release after prison was ordered for 10 people (83%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 1 person (8%), and restitution for 1 (8%).

In criminal history, 42% were in the lowest category, category I, and 8% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## How Few Cases This Is

These cases were less than 1% of the 2,440 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. There were 4 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 8 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The yearly table has 1 to 3 people in each year shown. Medians such as 72 months for 2016 and 71 months for 2022 each describe very small groups and are not trends.

The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data, so the records cannot show how many stalking or harassment prosecutions ended without a conviction.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 2                | 72 months     | 2 of 2         |
| 2018        | 1                | 24 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2019        | 1                | n/a           | 1 of 1         |
| 2021        | 2                | 21 months     | 2 of 2         |
| 2022        | 1                | 71 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2024        | 3                | 42 months     | 2 of 3         |
| 2025        | 2                | 25.5 months   | 2 of 2         |

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Central District of Illinois (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Illinois Cent") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Stalking/Harassing" (12). 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.

## Related Analysis

- [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article)
- [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts)
- [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method)
- [Federal Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-central-district-of-illinois/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-central-district-of-illinois/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-central-district-of-illinois/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-central-district-of-illinois/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-child-pornography-sentences-central-district-of-illinois/) (same district, other offense type)
- [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)
- [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.