Federal Stalking and Harassment Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025
30 people were sentenced for stalking or harassing offenses in the District of South Carolina in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 28 (93%) received a prison term, with a median of 27.3 months (2.3 years), higher than the 24 months for this offense type in all 94 districts. 29 pleaded guilty, and 59% of th
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016– › Stalking and Harassment: District of South Carolina
In brief: 30 people were sentenced for stalking or harassing offenses in the District of South Carolina in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 28 (93%) received a prison term, with a median of 27.3 months (2.3 years), higher than the 24 months for this offense type in all 94 districts. 29 pleaded guilty, and 59% of the guilty pleas had no plea agreement.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 30 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.
Most Guilty Pleas Had No Plea Agreement
29 of 30 people (97%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. Among the guilty pleas, 41% had a written plea agreement and 59% were straight pleas with no agreement.
The guilty plea rate was 92% for this offense type in all districts and 98% for all offenses in the District of South Carolina. The data does not show why a person pleaded without an agreement.
Prison Terms
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 30 people under the offense type "Stalking/Harassing." 28 (93%) received a prison term, and none received probation only. In all districts, 89% of the 2,263 people in this offense type were sent to prison.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 27.3 months. A quarter received 52.5 months or more, and a quarter received 14.3 months or less. The median for all offenses in the district was 48.2 months.
These are the terms imposed, not time served. The yearly table shows medians from 6.1 months in fiscal year 2020 to 49.5 months in fiscal year 2019.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 2 | 29.7 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2017 | 3 | 33 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2018 | 3 | 11 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2019 | 5 | 49.5 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2020 | 1 | 6.1 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 2 | 14 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2022 | 4 | 24 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2023 | 2 | 45 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2024 | 3 | 18 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2025 | 5 | 25.3 months | 4 of 5 |
Guidelines Used
§2A6.1 (Threatening or Harassing Communications) was the primary guideline for 21 people. §2A6.2 (Stalking or Domestic Violence) was the primary guideline for 9 people.
Of the 6,874 people sentenced in the district, less than 1% were in this group. The group had 13 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 17 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025.
Guideline Range Positions
The sentence was within the range for 60% (18) of the 30 people with this information. It was above the range for 10% (3). It was below the range at the government's request for 10% (3) and without a government request for 20% (6).
Within-range sentences were more common than the 47% for this offense type in all districts. They were also more common than the 47% for all offenses in this district.
Supervised Release, Restitution, and Mandatory Minimums
After prison, 28 people (93%) were placed on supervised release with a median term of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 3 people (10%). No fine was ordered.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 30 people with that information recorded (3%).
Criminal History
47% were in the lowest criminal history category, category I, and 20% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Small Yearly Groups and Limits
No year has more than 5 people, so yearly medians describe a few cases and do not show a trend.
These military installations are in this district: Joint Base Charleston, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, and Shaw AFB. Their courts-martial are not part of these numbers. Acquittals, dismissals, and the facts of individual cases are also absent from the data.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of South Carolina (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "South Carolina") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Stalking/Harassing" (30). 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 South Carolina, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of South Carolina, 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.