Federal Stalking and Harassment Sentences in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025
In the Eastern District of Wisconsin, 12 people were sentenced for stalking and harassment offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 10 (83%) received a prison term, with a median of 31 months, compared with 24 months across all 94 federal districts. All 12 pleaded guilty.
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In brief: In the Eastern District of Wisconsin, 12 people were sentenced for stalking and harassment offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 10 (83%) received a prison term, with a median of 31 months, compared with 24 months across all 94 federal districts. All 12 pleaded guilty.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 12 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.
Median Prison Term of 31 Months
Among the 10 people who went to prison, the median prison term was 31 months (2.6 years). A quarter received 36 months or more, and a quarter received 22.5 months or less. The all-districts median for this offense type was 24 months, which is lower than the median here.
For all offenses in this district, the median was 48 months. The other 2 people (17%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Across all districts, 89% were sent to prison.
These figures are the terms the court imposed. Time served is not in the data.
Guidelines Behind These Cases
"Stalking/Harassing" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. The primary guidelines were §2A6.2 (Stalking or Domestic Violence) for 6 people and §2A6.1 (Threatening or Harassing Communications) for 6.
The group was less than 1% of the 2,907 people sentenced in the district. Only convicted and sentenced people are counted, so stalking cases that ended in acquittal or dismissal do not appear.
Within the Range or Below It
Sentences within the guideline range were 42% (5 people), and sentences below the range without a government request were also 42% (5). One sentence (8%) was below the range at the government's request, and 1 (8%) was above the range.
For all districts together, 47% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 17%. Stalking and harassment sentences were therefore within the range more often than the district's cases overall.
Plea Agreements
Every one of the 12 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and every guilty plea had a written plea agreement. Nobody was convicted after a trial. Across all districts, 92% pleaded guilty.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 12 people (8%).
Supervised Release and Criminal History
After prison, 10 people (83%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 1 person (8%), and restitution for 3 (25%).
The federal data records criminal history, and court-martial records do not. In these cases, 33% were in category I, the lowest, and 8% were in category VI, the highest.
Counts by Fiscal Year
The district sentenced 3 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 9 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. A fiscal year starts on October 1.
The table lists 6 years, each with 1 to 4 people. Its medians run from 16 months to 60 months, and one year shows "n/a". Groups this small do not show a trend, and the table does not explain any year-to-year difference.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 1 | 22 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2019 | 2 | 60 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2021 | 1 | 48 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2022 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 |
| 2023 | 4 | 16 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2025 | 2 | 34 months | 2 of 2 |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Wisconsin (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Wisconsin East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Stalking/Harassing" (12). 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 Eastern District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, 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.