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# Federal Stalking and Harassment Sentences in the Eastern District of Missouri, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-stalking-harassing-sentences-eastern-district-of-missouri/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:36:12.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:36:12.000Z
- Description: All 22 people sentenced for stalking and harassing offenses in the Eastern District of Missouri, fiscal years 2016 to 2025, received a prison term and pleaded guilty. The median prison term was 25.5 months (2.1 years), compared with 24 months for this offense type in all 94 federal districts. Most s
- 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 Eastern District of Missouri, FY201](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-missouri/) › Stalking and Harassment: Eastern District of Missouri

**In brief:** All 22 people sentenced for stalking and harassing offenses in the Eastern District of Missouri, fiscal years 2016 to 2025, received a prison term and pleaded guilty. The median prison term was 25.5 months (2.1 years), compared with 24 months for this offense type in all 94 federal districts. Most sentences, 77% (17), were within the guideline range.

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 22 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/).

## Prison Terms for All 22 People

No one in this group received probation only. The median prison term was 25.5 months. A quarter of the people received 40 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less.

For all 94 districts together, the median for this offense type was 24 months, which is about the same as the median here. For all offenses in the district, the median was 46 months, which is higher.

Nationwide, 89% of people sentenced for this offense type were sent to prison. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.

## Sentences Mostly Within the Guideline Range

The Commission's guidelines calculate a range for each case. Of the 22 sentences, 17 (77%) were within the range.

Another 5% (1) were below the range at the government's request, and 9% (2) were below the range without a government request. Above the range were 9% (2).

Across all districts, 47% of sentences for this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 42%. Sentences within the range were more common here than in either comparison.

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 22 people.

## Which Guidelines Apply?

"Stalking/Harassing" is the Commission's category, and the primary guideline places each case in it. The most common here was §2A6.1 (Threatening or Harassing Communications), with 15 people. Next was §2A6.2 (Stalking or Domestic Violence), with 7 people.

These cases were less than 1% of the 9,425 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.

## Guilty Pleas

All 22 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. Every guilty plea had a written plea agreement.

Nationwide, 92% of people sentenced for this offense type pleaded guilty. For all offenses in the district, the figure was 99%.

## Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History

Supervised release after prison was ordered for 21 people (95%), and the median term was 36 months. No fine was ordered, and restitution was ordered for 1 person (5%).

In criminal history, 27% were in the lowest category and 14% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Yearly Numbers

From fiscal years 2016 to 2019, 4 people were sentenced. From fiscal years 2020 to 2025, 18 people were sentenced. The fiscal year runs from October 1 through the end of September.

The medians in the table were higher in fiscal years 2024 and 2025 than in most earlier years. Those years had 3 and 5 people, so the records cannot show a trend.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 1                | 0 months      | 1 of 1         |
| 2017        | 1                | 21 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2019        | 2                | 21.4 months   | 2 of 2         |
| 2020        | 4                | 22.8 months   | 4 of 4         |
| 2021        | 2                | 18.7 months   | 2 of 2         |
| 2023        | 4                | 21 months     | 4 of 4         |
| 2024        | 3                | 48 months     | 3 of 3         |
| 2025        | 5                | 41 months     | 5 of 5         |

## What Cannot Be Learned Here

The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. It does not include acquittals or dismissals, and it does not describe individual cases.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Missouri (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Missouri East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Stalking/Harassing" (22). 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](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 Eastern District of Missouri, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-missouri/) (overview)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Missouri, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-eastern-district-of-missouri/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Missouri, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-eastern-district-of-missouri/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Missouri, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-eastern-district-of-missouri/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Eastern District of Missouri, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-child-pornography-sentences-eastern-district-of-missouri/) (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.