Federal Stalking and Harassment Sentences in the Northern District of New York, FY2016–2025
In the Northern District of New York, 28 people were sentenced for stalking or harassing offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and all 28 received a prison term. The median was 17.5 months, compared with 24 months for the same offense type in all 94 federal districts. No mandatory minimum applied t
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Northern District of New York, FY20 › Stalking and Harassment: Northern District of New York
In brief: In the Northern District of New York, 28 people were sentenced for stalking or harassing offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and all 28 received a prison term. The median was 17.5 months, compared with 24 months for the same offense type in all 94 federal districts. No mandatory minimum applied to any of the 28.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 28 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
All 28 people in this offense type were sent to prison, and none received probation only. Across all 94 federal districts, 89% received a prison term.
The median prison term was 17.5 months. A quarter received 34.2 months or more, and a quarter received 10.2 months or less. For all districts the median was 24 months, which is the same as the median for all offenses in this district.
No mandatory minimum applied to any of the 28 people. Each of them also received supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months.
What the Cases Involved
"Stalking/Harassing" is the Sentencing Commission's offense type. In this district, 27 of the 28 people were sentenced under §2A6.1 (Threatening or Harassing Communications). The other person was sentenced under §2A6.2 (Stalking or Domestic Violence).
The title of the main guideline refers to communications. These cases were less than 1% of the 3,763 people sentenced in the district.
Pleas and Trials
A total of 25 of the 28 people (89%) pleaded guilty, and 3 were convicted after a trial. In all districts the guilty plea rate was 92%.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 16 months. After a trial it was 46 months. The trial figure rests on 3 people, so it is a description of a small group and not a measure of what a trial adds to a sentence.
Among those who pleaded guilty, 76% had a written plea agreement and 24% were straight pleas.
The Guideline Range
Sentences within the guideline range were 75% of the total (21 people). For this offense type in all districts the share was 47%, and for all offenses in the district it was 53%.
A total of 2 sentences (7%) were below the range at the government's request, and 5 (18%) were below it without a request. None was above the range.
Fines, Restitution, and Criminal History
A fine was ordered for 1 person (4%), and restitution for 2 (7%).
On criminal history, 61% were in the lowest category, category I, and 18% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Counts Are Very Small
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 6 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 22. No year has more than 8 people, and 3 years have only 1.
The yearly medians range from 6.1 months to 46 months. The 2 years with a 46-month median each have a single person, who did not plead guilty. The records do not support reading these figures as a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 2 | 27.5 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2017 | 2 | 27.3 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2018 | 1 | 6.1 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2019 | 1 | 46 months | 0 of 1 |
| 2020 | 3 | 10.8 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2021 | 5 | 13 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2022 | 1 | 46 months | 0 of 1 |
| 2023 | 8 | 14 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2024 | 3 | 33 months | 2 of 3 |
| 2025 | 2 | 32.5 months | 2 of 2 |
Limits of the Records
The data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. Fort Drum, New York, is in this district, but courts-martial are tried in military courts and not in this federal court.
The records do not show what was said or done in any case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of New York (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New York North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Stalking/Harassing" (28). 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 New York, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of New York, 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.