Federal Stalking and Harassment Sentences in the Northern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025
The Northern District of Iowa sentenced 11 people for stalking and harassing offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2023, and all 11 received a prison term. The median was 55.5 months (4.6 years), compared with 24 months for all 94 federal districts. 2 of the 11 were convicted after a trial.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Northern District of Iowa, FY2016–2 › Stalking and Harassment: Northern District of Iowa
In brief: The Northern District of Iowa sentenced 11 people for stalking and harassing offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2023, and all 11 received a prison term. The median was 55.5 months (4.6 years), compared with 24 months for all 94 federal districts. 2 of the 11 were convicted after a trial.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 11 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.
Prison Terms in a Group of 11
All 11 people (100%) received a prison term, and none received probation only. The median was 55.5 months. A quarter received 74.5 months or more, and a quarter received 27 months or less.
The Commission's all-district count for this offense type is 2,263 people. In that larger group, 89% were sent to prison, with a median term of 24 months. The Iowa median is higher. All offenses in the Northern District of Iowa had a median of 60 months. The terms are those imposed by the court. They are not the time a person actually served.
What the Offense Type Covers
"Stalking/Harassing" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. The primary guideline was §2A6.1 (Threatening or Harassing Communications) for 8 people and §2A6.2 (Stalking or Domestic Violence) for 3.
Stalking and harassing cases made up less than 1% of the 3,479 people sentenced in this district from fiscal year 2016 through fiscal year 2025. The sheet does not give the facts of any case.
Pleas and Trials
A total of 9 people (82%) pleaded guilty, and 2 were convicted after a trial. In all districts, 92% pleaded guilty, and for all offenses in this district the figure was 96%.
The median prison term was 55.5 months after a guilty plea and 45 months after a trial. Both groups are very small. Among the 9 guilty pleas, 7 had a written plea agreement and 2 were straight pleas with no agreement.
Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums
A total of 64% (7) were sentenced within the guideline range. 9% (1) were below it at the government's request, and none (0%) were below it without a request. 27% (3) were above the range.
The within-range share was 47% for all districts in this offense type and 53% for all offenses in this district. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 11 people (0%).
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
All 11 people (100%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, and the median term was 36 months. The court ordered a fine for 2 (18%) and restitution for 2 (18%).
In criminal history, 18% were in the lowest category I and 27% were in the highest category VI. The court-martial records used elsewhere on this site have no criminal history field, so no comparison with courts-martial is made.
Counts by Fiscal Year
The group has 4 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 7 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. Each year in the table has 1 to 4 people, and the table has no rows for 2017 or 2022. The fiscal year starts on October 1.
The median was 18 months in 2016 and 77 months in 2023, each based on 1 person. No trend can be drawn from counts this small. The records do not explain the differences, and the data includes only people who were convicted and sentenced.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 | 18 months | 0 of 1 |
| 2018 | 2 | 48 months | 1 of 2 |
| 2019 | 1 | 90 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2020 | 4 | 51.7 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2021 | 2 | 67.5 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2023 | 1 | 77 months | 1 of 1 |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Iowa (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Iowa North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Stalking/Harassing" (11). 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 Northern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Iowa, 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.