Federal Stalking and Harassment Sentences in the Northern District of Florida, FY2016–2025
In the Northern District of Florida, 16 people were sentenced for stalking/harassing offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term for the 11 sent to prison (69%) was 72 months, compared with 24 months across all 94 federal districts. 14 of the 16 pleaded guilty.
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In brief: In the Northern District of Florida, 16 people were sentenced for stalking/harassing offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term for the 11 sent to prison (69%) was 72 months, compared with 24 months across all 94 federal districts. 14 of the 16 pleaded guilty.
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.
How Does the Median Prison Term Compare?
The median prison term in this district was 72 months, or 6 years. The national median for this offense type was 24 months, so the district figure is higher. The records do not explain the difference, and the district group is small.
Among the 11 people sent to prison, a quarter received 103 months or more, and a quarter received 39 months or less. The district's median prison term for all offenses was 48 months.
Who Was Sentenced and How
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 16 people in the "Stalking/Harassing" offense type for this district. They were less than 1% of the 2,768 people sentenced in the district across these years.
11 of the 16 (69%) received a prison term, and 1 (6%) received probation only. Across all 94 districts, this offense type had 2,263 people, and 89% were sent to prison.
Guidelines Used
The Commission's offense type is a category, not one statute. In this district, 14 people had §2A6.1 (Threatening or Harassing Communications) as the primary guideline, and 2 had §2A6.2 (Stalking or Domestic Violence).
Most of these cases therefore involved the communications guideline, not the stalking guideline.
Pleas and Trials
14 of 16 (88%) pleaded guilty, and 2 were convicted after a trial. The national rate was 92%, and the rate for all offenses in the district was 93%.
The median prison term was 87 months after a guilty plea and 34 months after a trial, based on 2 people. With 2 people, the trial figure cannot be compared with the plea figure. Among guilty pleas, 93% had a written plea agreement and 7% were straight pleas.
Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums
The sentence was within the guideline range for 56% of the 16 people (9). It was below the range without a government request for 25% (4) and above the range for 19% (3). None was below the range at the government's request.
The national share within the range was 47%, and the share for all offenses in the district was 44%. The share here is higher than both. A mandatory minimum applied to 2 of the 16 people (13%).
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
11 people (69%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 3 (19%), and restitution for 3 (19%).
50% were in the lowest criminal history category, and 19% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Counts and Military Courts
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 9 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 7. The yearly counts are 1 to 4 people, so the medians in the table are not a trend. The table shows n/a for 2023.
The court-martial data on this site includes Eglin AFB, Hurlburt Field, Pensacola, and Tyndall AFB, which are in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court. The federal data leaves out acquittals and dismissals.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 2 | 120 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2017 | 3 | 24 months | 2 of 3 |
| 2018 | 4 | 64 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2020 | 1 | 110 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2022 | 2 | 44 months | 1 of 2 |
| 2023 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2024 | 2 | 84 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2025 | 1 | 37 months | 1 of 1 |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Florida (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Florida North") 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.
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 Northern District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern 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.