Federal Stalking and Harassment Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025
In the District of New Mexico, 58 people were sentenced for stalking and harassment offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term for the 50 sent to prison (86%) was 19.4 months. All 94 federal districts together report a median of 24 months for this offense type.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025 › Stalking and Harassment: District of New Mexico
In brief: In the District of New Mexico, 58 people were sentenced for stalking and harassment offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term for the 50 sent to prison (86%) was 19.4 months. All 94 federal districts together report a median of 24 months for this offense type.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 58 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.
More People Were Sentenced in the 2020s Than in the Late 2010s
The district had 13 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019. It had 45 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. Fiscal years begin on October 1, so they do not match calendar years.
The table lists 3 people in each of 2016, 2017, and 2019, and 11 people in 2022. The records give the counts but not the reasons they changed.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 3 | 15 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2017 | 3 | 57 months | 2 of 3 |
| 2018 | 4 | 12.7 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2019 | 3 | 43.5 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2020 | 7 | 13 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2021 | 8 | 20.9 months | 7 of 8 |
| 2022 | 11 | 27 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 4 | 12 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2024 | 7 | 30.5 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2025 | 8 | 33 months | 8 of 8 |
Which Guidelines Did the Cases Use?
The Commission files each case under one primary guideline. For 34 cases it was §2A6.1 (Threatening or Harassing Communications). For 24 cases it was §2A6.2 (Stalking or Domestic Violence).
Together these cases were less than 1% of the 29,766 people sentenced in the district in the period. The median prison term for all offenses in the district was 3.5 months, which is lower than the median for this offense type.
Who Went to Prison and for How Long
8 of the 58 people (14%) received probation only. Of the 50 sent to prison, a quarter received 30.8 months or more, and a quarter received 12.3 months or less.
In all districts, 2,263 people were sentenced in this offense type, and 89% went to prison. In this district, a mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 58 people (2%).
Pleas Compared With Trials
56 people (97%) pleaded guilty. 2 people were convicted after a trial. After a guilty plea, the median prison term was 18.1 months, and after a trial it was 52 months.
The trial number rests on 2 sentences and says little about trials in general. 84% of those who pleaded guilty had a written plea agreement, and 16% had none. Across all districts, 92% of people in this type pleaded guilty.
Guideline Range Results
The sentence was within the guideline range for 23 people (40%). 20 (34%) were below the range at the government's request. 11 (19%) were below it with no such request, and 4 (7%) were above it.
The all-district figure for sentences within the range was 47% in this type. District-wide, across all offenses, it was 59%.
Supervised Release, Money Orders, and Criminal History
49 people (84%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison for a median of 36 months. 6 (10%) were ordered to pay a fine, and 8 (14%) to pay restitution.
55% of the people had a criminal history in category I, the lowest. None were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial files have no equivalent field.
What This Post Does Not Cover
Cannon AFB, Holloman AFB, and Kirtland AFB lie inside the district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court. This post reports federal numbers alone.
The records include only convicted, sentenced people. Anyone acquitted or whose case was dismissed is missing, and the facts of each case are not given. Prison terms are the terms ordered, not time served.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of New Mexico (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New Mexico") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Stalking/Harassing" (58). 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 District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Assault Sentences in the District of New Mexico, 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.