> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Federal Stalking and Harassment Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-stalking-harassing-sentences-middle-district-of-north-carolina/ - Published: 2026-11-04T11:02:11.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T11:02:11.000Z - Description: The Middle District of North Carolina sentenced 15 people in the stalking and harassing offense type in fiscal years 2016 to 2024. Of them, 10 (67%) went to prison for a median of 19.5 months, which is lower than the 24 months for all 94 districts. Every one of the 15 pleaded guilty. - 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 Middle District of North Carolina, ](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-middle-district-of-north-carolina/) › Stalking and Harassment: Middle District of North Carolina **In brief:** The Middle District of North Carolina sentenced 15 people in the stalking and harassing offense type in fiscal years 2016 to 2024\. Of them, 10 (67%) went to prison for a median of 19.5 months, which is lower than the 24 months for all 94 districts. Every one of the 15 pleaded guilty. 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 15 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 Were Shorter Than the National Median The 10 people who went to prison had a median term of 19.5 months. The longest quarter of terms was 41 months or more, and the shortest quarter was 13.8 months or less. Nationally, the median for this offense type was 24 months, and 89% of people were sent to prison. In this district, 2 people (13%) received probation only. For comparison, the median prison term across every offense in the district was 60 months. ## How the Cases Were Classified The Sentencing Commission assigns an offense type from each case's primary guideline. For stalking and harassing, 12 people were sentenced under §2A6.1 (Threatening or Harassing Communications) and 3 under §2A6.2 (Stalking or Domestic Violence). Together these cases were less than 1% of the 3,816 people sentenced in the district across fiscal years 2016 to 2025. ## Guilty Pleas and Agreements Pleas were universal: 15 of 15 (100%). No trial sentences exist in this group to compare. The national share for the offense type was 92%, and the share for every offense in this district was 98%. Among the pleas, a written agreement existed in 93% and was absent in 7%. ## Sentences Within and Below the Range The Guidelines produce a recommended range for each case. In 7 cases (47%), the sentence was inside it, the same share as the 47% nationally. For every offense in this district, 53% of sentences were inside the range. Another 3 (20%) were below it at the government's request, and 5 (33%) were below it without such a request. No sentence was above the range, and no mandatory minimum applied. ## Supervised Release and Criminal History Supervised release followed prison for 10 people (67%), with a median length of 36 months. One person (7%) was fined, and no restitution was ordered. Criminal history category I, the lowest, applied to 40% of the group, and category VI, the highest, applied to 33%. ## Yearly Detail The district had 5 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 10 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The yearly table never exceeds 3 people, and 1 year shows "n/a" for the median. Medians from 15 months to 44 months appear across the years, though each one describes a handful of people. The records cannot show a trend. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 1 | 44 months | 1 of 1 | | 2018 | 2 | 21 months | 2 of 2 | | 2019 | 2 | 30 months | 2 of 2 | | 2020 | 1 | 15 months | 1 of 1 | | 2021 | 1 | 32 months | 1 of 1 | | 2022 | 3 | 25.5 months | 3 of 3 | | 2023 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 | | 2024 | 3 | 15.7 months | 3 of 3 | ## Gaps in the Records Acquittals, dismissals, and cases handled in other courts do not appear in this data. The prison figures are terms imposed, not time served. The records also give no facts about any case, such as what was said or to whom, so the offense type alone cannot show how serious any one case was. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Middle District of North Carolina (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "N Carolina Mid") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Stalking/Harassing" (15). 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 Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-middle-district-of-north-carolina/) (overview) - [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-middle-district-of-north-carolina/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-middle-district-of-north-carolina/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Robbery Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-robbery-sentences-middle-district-of-north-carolina/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-middle-district-of-north-carolina/) (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.