Federal Stalking and Harassment Sentences in the Middle District of Florida, FY2016–2025
In the Middle District of Florida, 72 people were sentenced for stalking/harassing offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 59 (82%) received a prison term, with a median of 30 months (2.5 years). The median after a trial, 23.5 months, was lower than after a guilty plea.
· Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Middle District of Florida, FY2016– › Stalking and Harassment: Middle District of Florida
In brief: In the Middle District of Florida, 72 people were sentenced for stalking/harassing offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 59 (82%) received a prison term, with a median of 30 months (2.5 years). The median after a trial, 23.5 months, was lower than after a guilty plea.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 72 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.
A Trial Median Below the Plea Median
Here the median prison term after a trial was lower than after a guilty plea. The median prison term was 30 months after a guilty plea and 23.5 months after a trial.
66 of 72 people (92%) pleaded guilty, and 6 were convicted after a trial. The trial figure rests on 6 people, so it cannot show a general pattern, and the records do not explain the difference. Across all 94 districts, 92% pleaded guilty. For all offenses in this district, the rate was 95%.
Prison and Probation
The Commission's "Stalking/Harassing" offense type had 72 people in this district. 59 (82%) were sentenced to prison, and 10 (14%) received probation only.
A quarter of those sent to prison received 49.5 months or more, and a quarter received 13.2 months or less. Across all districts, 89% were sent to prison and the median was 24 months. The district's median was higher. For all offenses in this district, the median was 57 months.
Guideline Range
49% (35 people) were within the guideline range. 28% (20) were below it without a government request, and 8% (6) were below it at the government's request. 15% (11) were above it.
Across all districts, 47% were within the range, which is about the same. A sentence above the range means the court imposed more than the range recommended. The share above the range is for a small group of 11 people.
Which Guidelines Applied
The most common primary guideline was §2A6.1 (Threatening or Harassing Communications), for 61 people. §2A6.2 (Stalking or Domestic Violence) was used for 11 people.
A mandatory minimum applied to 1 of the 72 people (1%). Among guilty pleas, 58% had a written plea agreement and 42% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Supervised Release and Other Orders
59 people (82%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 4 (6%) and restitution for 12 (17%).
For criminal history, 58% were in the lowest category and 15% in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts by Year
The district sentenced 24 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 48 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. Yearly counts ranged from 4 to 11.
Yearly medians ranged from 12 months in fiscal year 2021 to 68.5 months in fiscal year 2022. With so few people per year, these are not a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 8 | 32 months | 7 of 8 |
| 2017 | 4 | 36 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2018 | 5 | 46 months | 4 of 5 |
| 2019 | 7 | 30 months | 6 of 7 |
| 2020 | 6 | 27 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2021 | 11 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 5 | 68.5 months | 3 of 5 |
| 2023 | 4 | 15 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2024 | 11 | 37 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 11 | 27 months | 91% |
What Is Not Included
Only people convicted and sentenced are counted. Dismissals and acquittals are not. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
Courts-martial are tried in military courts and are not part of these federal numbers.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Middle District of Florida (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Florida Mid") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Stalking/Harassing" (72). 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 Middle District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Middle District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Middle District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Middle District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Middle District of Florida, 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.