Federal Stalking and Harassment Sentences in the District of Oregon, FY2016–2025
In the District of Oregon, 42 people were sentenced for stalking and harassing offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 74% received a prison term, with a median of 17 months, which is lower than the 24 months for this offense type in all 94 federal districts together.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Oregon, FY2016–2025 › Stalking and Harassment: District of Oregon
In brief: In the District of Oregon, 42 people were sentenced for stalking and harassing offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 74% received a prison term, with a median of 17 months, which is lower than the 24 months for this offense type in all 94 federal districts together.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 42 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.
Threats Were the Most Common Guideline
The Commission's "Stalking/Harassing" category is its own offense type. The most common primary guideline here was §2A6.1 (Threatening or Harassing Communications), with 32 people. The next was §2A6.2 (Stalking or Domestic Violence), with 10.
These cases were less than 1% of the 4,319 people sentenced in the District of Oregon in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Who Went to Prison and for How Long
31 of the 42 people (74%) received a prison term, and 9 (21%) received probation only. In all districts, 89% were sent to prison.
Among those sent to prison, a quarter received 26.6 months or more, and a quarter received 7.8 months or less. The median for all offenses in the District of Oregon was 32 months, which is higher than the 17 months for these cases. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 5 | 9.5 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2017 | 1 | 63 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2018 | 3 | 0 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2019 | 3 | 5.7 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2020 | 6 | 18 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2021 | 5 | 24 months | 4 of 5 |
| 2022 | 5 | 48 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2023 | 3 | 19.1 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2024 | 4 | 12.3 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2025 | 7 | 13.7 months | 7 of 7 |
One Trial Conviction
41 of 42 people (98%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 16 months. The person convicted at trial received 120 months. A single case cannot be compared with the group of pleas, and it shows what happened in that case only.
All of the guilty pleas (100%) had a written plea agreement. For all districts, guilty pleas were 92% in this category.
Position Against the Guideline Range
Within the range: 21% (9 people). Below the range at the government's request: 48% (20). Below the range without a government request: 26% (11). Above the range: 5% (2).
Across all districts, 47% were within the range. For all offenses in this district, 22% were. A mandatory minimum applied to 0 of the 42 people.
Supervised Release, Restitution, and Criminal History
32 people (76%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 14 (33%), and no fine was ordered.
By criminal history, 48% were in the lowest category and 7% in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Small Numbers by Year
12 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 30 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The fiscal year runs October 1 to the end of September. Each year has 1 to 7 people, and the medians range from 0 months to 63 months, so the table cannot support a trend.
The records for this category show the guideline used, such as threatening communications or stalking, but not the words or acts in any case. The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not included, and the records give no details of the communications or conduct in any case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Oregon (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Oregon") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Stalking/Harassing" (42). 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 Oregon, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Oregon, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Oregon, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Oregon, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Oregon, 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.