Federal Stalking and Harassment Sentences in the Northern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025
The Northern District of Ohio sentenced 50 people for stalking or harassing offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 44 (88%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 22.5 months. Across all 94 federal districts, 89% were sent to prison, and the median was 24 months.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Northern District of Ohio, FY2016–2 › Stalking and Harassment: Northern District of Ohio
In brief: The Northern District of Ohio sentenced 50 people for stalking or harassing offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 44 (88%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 22.5 months. Across all 94 federal districts, 89% were sent to prison, and the median was 24 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 50 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 About the Same as the National Figures
The district's prison rate of 88% is about the same as the 89% across all districts, where the Commission counted 2,263 people. The district's median of 22.5 months is a little lower than the national 24 months.
Among the 44 people sent to prison, a quarter received 36.2 months or more, and a quarter received 9.8 months or less. 6 people (12%) received probation only. The terms are imposed, not time served.
Threatening Communications Led the Guidelines
The primary guideline for 48 people was §2A6.1 (Threatening or Harassing Communications). Another 2 were sentenced under §2A6.2 (Stalking or Domestic Violence).
The 50 people are less than 1% of the 7,866 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The district's median prison term for all offenses was 46 months.
Pleas and Trials
47 of the 50 people (94%) pleaded guilty, and 3 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 21 months after a guilty plea and 30 months after a trial. The trial median is based on 3 people.
Among the guilty pleas, 77% had a written plea agreement and 23% were straight pleas with no agreement. Across all districts, 92% pleaded guilty.
Fewer Sentences Below the Range Than in Other Offense Types
The guideline range is the sentencing range that the Commission's manual produces for each case. 28 people (56%) were sentenced within it. 6 (12%) were below the range at the government's request, and 11 (22%) were below it without a request. 5 (10%) were above it.
Across all districts, 47% were within the range. For all offenses in this district it was 43%.
Supervised Release, Fines, and History
Supervised release was ordered for 44 people (88%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 3 (6%), and restitution for 9 (18%). A mandatory minimum applied to 2 of the 50 (4%).
In the lowest criminal history category were 44% of the group, and 18% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts by Fiscal Year
The district sentenced 20 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 30 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The fiscal year runs from October 1 through the following September. Counts per year run from 1 to 10, and fiscal year 2024 has a median of n/a. The table does not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 2 | 29.5 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2017 | 8 | 24 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2018 | 3 | 40 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2019 | 7 | 30 months | 5 of 7 |
| 2020 | 10 | 24 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 8 | 15.1 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2022 | 7 | 16 months | 6 of 7 |
| 2023 | 2 | 19.9 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2024 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2025 | 2 | 18.5 months | 2 of 2 |
What the Records Cannot Show
Only people who were convicted and sentenced are in the data. Acquittals and dismissals are not. The records do not describe the communications or conduct involved, and they do not show any relationship between the people in a case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Ohio (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Ohio North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Stalking/Harassing" (50). 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 Ohio, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Ohio, 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.