Federal Stalking and Harassment Sentences in the District of Maine, FY2016–2025
In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 23 people were sentenced in the District of Maine for stalking or harassing offenses. Of those, 22 received a prison term with a median of 18 months, lower than the 24 months for the same offense type across all 94 districts. Guilty pleas were 87%, less often than the 9
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Maine, FY2016–2025 › Stalking and Harassment: District of Maine
In brief: In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 23 people were sentenced in the District of Maine for stalking or harassing offenses. Of those, 22 received a prison term with a median of 18 months, lower than the 24 months for the same offense type across all 94 districts. Guilty pleas were 87%, less often than the 92% nationally.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 23 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.
Threat and Stalking Guidelines Cover All 23 Cases
The U.S. Sentencing Commission groups these cases under the offense type "Stalking/Harassing." Each case also has a primary guideline. In Maine, 15 cases were sentenced primarily under §2A6.1 (Threatening or Harassing Communications), and 8 under §2A6.2 (Stalking or Domestic Violence).
The 23 people were 1% of the 1,628 people sentenced in the district over fiscal years 2016 to 2025. A fiscal year begins on October 1 and ends the following September.
Prison Terms
Of the 23 people, 22 (96%) received a prison term, and 1 (4%) received probation only. The median prison term was 18 months. A quarter received 30 months or more, and a quarter received 10.5 months or less.
Across all districts, 2,263 people fall in this offense type, 89% were sent to prison, and the median was 24 months. The Maine median for all offenses was 36 months. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
Guilty Pleas and Trials
Guilty pleas were entered by 20 of 23 people (87%), and 3 were convicted after a trial. For all offenses in Maine, guilty pleas were 96%, so this group went to trial more often than the district as a whole.
The median prison term was 18 months after a guilty plea and 27 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 3 people.
Among guilty pleas, 70% had a written plea agreement and 30% were straight pleas with no agreement. The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are not in the data.
Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums
Within the guideline range were 39% of sentences (9). Another 26% (6) were below the range at the government's request, and 30% (7) were below the range without a government request. One sentence (4%) was above the range.
The figure for all offenses in Maine was 30% within the range. For this offense type in all districts, it was 47%. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 23 people with that information recorded.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 21 people (91%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 1 person (4%), and restitution for 3 (13%).
Criminal History and Counts by Year
Among the 23 people, 61% were in the lowest criminal history category, category I, and 4% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 9 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 14 people. Fiscal year 2021 had the most, with 6 people. The table shows no more than 3 people in any other year, and the records cannot show whether the yearly differences mean anything.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 2 | 19.5 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2017 | 1 | 15 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2018 | 3 | 35 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2019 | 3 | 24 months | 2 of 3 |
| 2021 | 6 | 15.5 months | 5 of 6 |
| 2022 | 2 | 22.4 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2023 | 3 | 18 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2024 | 2 | 21 months | 1 of 2 |
| 2025 | 1 | 18 months | 1 of 1 |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Maine (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Maine") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Stalking/Harassing" (23). 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 (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- Federal Sentences in the District of Maine, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Maine, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Maine, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Maine, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the District of Maine, 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.