Federal Stalking and Harassment Sentences in the Middle District of Georgia, FY2016–2025
All 16 people sentenced in the "Stalking/Harassing" category in the Middle District of Georgia in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 26.6 months (2.2 years). Trials were more common here than nationally: 3 of the 16 were convicted after a trial.
· Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Middle District of Georgia, FY2016– › Stalking and Harassment: Middle District of Georgia
In brief: All 16 people sentenced in the "Stalking/Harassing" category in the Middle District of Georgia in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 26.6 months (2.2 years). Trials were more common here than nationally: 3 of the 16 were convicted after a trial.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 16 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.
Every Sentence Included Prison
16 of the 16 people (100%) received a prison term, and none received probation only. The median prison term was 26.6 months (2.2 years).
A quarter received 45.8 months or more, and a quarter received 15.2 months or less. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 16 people. The terms are those imposed, not time served.
Pleas and Trials
13 of the 16 people (81%) pleaded guilty, and 3 were convicted after a trial. Nationally, guilty pleas were 92% in this offense type, so the plea share here was lower.
The median prison term was 23.2 months after a guilty plea and 41 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 3 people, so it is a small base. The records do not show whether the trial cases differed in other ways.
Among guilty pleas, 92% had a written plea agreement and 8% were straight pleas with no agreement.
National Comparison
Across all 94 districts, 2,263 people were sentenced in this offense type. 89% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 24 months.
In this district, the share sent to prison was higher than the national share, and the median prison term was a little higher. For all offenses in the district, the median was 51 months, which is higher than the 26.6 months here.
One Guideline Covers the Category Here
"Stalking/Harassing" is the Commission's own offense category. The primary guideline in this district was §2A6.1 (Threatening or Harassing Communications) for all 16 people.
They were less than 1% of the 4,094 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Position Against the Guideline Range
69% of the sentences (11) were within the guideline range. 6% (1) were below the range at the government's request, and 13% (2) were below the range without a government request. 13% (2) were above the range.
Nationally, 47% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the share was 66%.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
15 people (94%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 2 (13%), and no restitution was ordered.
31% of the people were in criminal history category I, the lowest, and 31% were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts by Fiscal Year
The district sentenced 4 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 12 people in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The table has no row for fiscal year 2019. Yearly counts were 1 to 4 people, and medians range from 5.8 months to 123.5 months. Counts this small cannot show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 | 14 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2017 | 1 | 41 months | 0 of 1 |
| 2018 | 2 | 22.8 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2020 | 4 | 123.5 months | 3 of 4 |
| 2021 | 1 | 11.3 months | 0 of 1 |
| 2022 | 3 | 5.8 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2023 | 2 | 25.5 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2024 | 1 | 60 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2025 | 1 | 20 months | 1 of 1 |
What the Records Leave Out
The Commission's data lists only people who were convicted and sentenced, so a person who was acquitted or whose case was dismissed is absent. No case facts or reasons for a sentence are given. The installations in this site's court-martial data, Fort Benning, Moody AFB, and Robins AFB, are in this district. Military courts try courts-martial, and this federal court does not.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Middle District of Georgia (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Georgia Mid") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Stalking/Harassing" (16). 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 Middle District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Middle District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Middle District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Other Offense Sentences in the Middle District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Middle District of Georgia, 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.