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# Federal Stalking and Harassment Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-stalking-harassing-sentences-middle-district-of-pennsylvania/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:01:09.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:01:09.000Z
- Description: In the Middle District of Pennsylvania, 38 of 39 people (97%) sentenced for stalking and harassing offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median prison term was 21 months. The median after a trial was 150 months, based on only 3 people.
- 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 Pennsylvania, FY](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-middle-district-of-pennsylvania/) › Stalking and Harassment: Middle District of Pennsylvania

**In brief:** In the Middle District of Pennsylvania, 38 of 39 people (97%) sentenced for stalking and harassing offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median prison term was 21 months. The median after a trial was 150 months, based on only 3 people.

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 39 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/).

## Almost Everyone Received a Prison Term

The U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type "Stalking/Harassing" covers 39 people sentenced in this district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. Of these, 38 (97%) received a prison term. One person (3%) received probation only.

The median prison term was 21 months. A quarter of those sent to prison received 41.8 months or more, and a quarter received 6.3 months or less. These are the terms imposed, not time served.

## Comparison With All 94 Districts

Across all 94 federal districts, 2,263 people were sentenced under this offense type. In that group, 89% were sent to prison and the median prison term was 24 months. The share sent to prison was higher in this district, and the median prison term was lower.

Guilty pleas were 92% across all districts and 92% here: 36 of 39 people pleaded guilty. Sentences within the guideline range were 47% across all districts and 45% here.

## Pleas Compared With Trials

3 people were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 17 months. After a trial it was 150 months.

The trial figure rests on 3 people. That is too few to say how plea and trial sentences compare in general.

Among guilty pleas, 75% had a written plea agreement and 25% were straight pleas with no agreement.

## Mandatory Minimums and the Guideline Range

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 3 of the 38 people with that information recorded (8%).

Against the guideline range, 17 people (45%) were sentenced within it. Another 6 (16%) were below it at the government's request. A further 14 (37%) were below it without a government request. One person (3%) was above it.

## Which Guidelines Applied

Most cases fell under §2A6.1 (Threatening or Harassing Communications), with 32 people. Another 5 fell under §2A6.2 (Stalking or Domestic Violence).

The offense type is the Commission's category, and it groups cases by the primary guideline. These cases were less than 1% of the 4,067 people sentenced in the district over the period. For all offenses in the district, the median prison term was 46 months.

## Supervision, Fines, and Criminal History

Supervised release after prison was ordered for 32 people (82%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 8 (21%), and restitution for 3 (8%).

In criminal history, 34% were in the lowest category and 29% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Yearly Counts and Limits

Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 14 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 25 people. Each year has from 2 to 6 people, so the yearly medians in the table swing widely and show no trend.

The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it. It does not show the facts of any case.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 4                | 23.2 months   | 4 of 4         |
| 2017        | 3                | 14 months     | 3 of 3         |
| 2018        | 5                | 96 months     | 4 of 5         |
| 2019        | 2                | 28.5 months   | 2 of 2         |
| 2020        | 2                | 240 months    | 1 of 2         |
| 2021        | 4                | 39 months     | 4 of 4         |
| 2022        | 5                | 12 months     | 4 of 5         |
| 2023        | 5                | 15 months     | 5 of 5         |
| 2024        | 3                | 6.1 months    | 3 of 3         |
| 2025        | 6                | 8.5 months    | 6 of 6         |

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Middle District of Pennsylvania (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Penn. Mid") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Stalking/Harassing" (39). 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](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 Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-middle-district-of-pennsylvania/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-middle-district-of-pennsylvania/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-middle-district-of-pennsylvania/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-middle-district-of-pennsylvania/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-middle-district-of-pennsylvania/) (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.