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# Federal Stalking and Harassment Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-stalking-harassing-sentences-district-of-maryland/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:01:48.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:01:48.000Z
- Description: All 26 people sentenced for stalking or harassing offenses in the District of Maryland in fiscal years 2017 to 2025 pleaded guilty. Of them, 20 (77%) received a prison term, with a median of 20.9 months, compared with 24 months in all 94 federal districts.
- 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 District of Maryland, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-maryland/) › Stalking and Harassment: District of Maryland

**In brief:** All 26 people sentenced for stalking or harassing offenses in the District of Maryland in fiscal years 2017 to 2025 pleaded guilty. Of them, 20 (77%) received a prison term, with a median of 20.9 months, compared with 24 months in all 94 federal 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 26 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/).

## Every Person Pleaded Guilty

All 26 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. Among guilty pleas, 96% had a written plea agreement and 4% were straight pleas with no agreement.

For this offense type in all 94 districts, 92% pleaded guilty. For all offenses in the District of Maryland, the figure was 95%.

## Prison Terms and Probation

A total of 20 people (77%) received a prison term, and 2 (8%) received probation only. The median prison term was 20.9 months. A quarter received 25.5 months or more, and a quarter received 6 months or less.

For stalking and harassing offenses in all 94 districts, 89% were sent to prison and the median was 24 months. For all offenses in this district, the median was 48 months. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 26 people (4%).

## The Guideline Range

Within the guideline range were 12 people (46%). Below it without a government request were 7 (27%), and below it at the government's request were 4 (15%). A total of 3 (12%) were above the range.

For this offense type in all 94 districts, 47% of sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 31%. The Maryland share was about the same as the all-district share.

## Primary Guidelines

"Stalking/Harassing" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type, and each case is assigned to it by its primary guideline. The most common was §2A6.1 (Threatening or Harassing Communications), with 16 people. Next was §2A6.2 (Stalking or Domestic Violence), with 8.

These cases were less than 1% of the 6,044 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.

## After Prison

After prison, 20 people (77%) were ordered to serve supervised release, and the median term was 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 2 people (8%), and no fines were ordered.

In criminal history, 92% were in the lowest category and 4% in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## More Cases in Recent Years

Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 6 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 20\. No year in the table has more than 5 people. Medians range from 0 months in 2017 to 30 months in 2025.

One year of 5 people or fewer cannot show a trend. Federal fiscal years run from October through the following September.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2017        | 1                | 0 months      | 1 of 1         |
| 2018        | 2                | 22.6 months   | 2 of 2         |
| 2019        | 3                | 21 months     | 3 of 3         |
| 2020        | 2                | 24.1 months   | 2 of 2         |
| 2021        | 3                | 7 months      | 3 of 3         |
| 2022        | 5                | 18 months     | 5 of 5         |
| 2023        | 3                | 5 months      | 3 of 3         |
| 2024        | 3                | 24 months     | 3 of 3         |
| 2025        | 4                | 30 months     | 4 of 4         |

## What Is Not in the Records

This data lists people convicted and sentenced, and nothing about any victim or the conduct in a case. The prison terms are sentences imposed, not time served.

Fort Meade, Maryland, and Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, are in this district. Service members are tried in courts-martial, which are separate from this court.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Maryland (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Maryland") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Stalking/Harassing" (26). 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](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 District of Maryland, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-maryland/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-maryland/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-maryland/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-maryland/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-district-of-maryland/) (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.