Federal Stalking and Harassment Sentences in the Northern District of Texas, FY2016–2025
In the Northern District of Texas, 51 people were sentenced for stalking/harassing offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of those, 45 (88%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 27 months. Nearly all, 49 of 51 (96%), pleaded guilty.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Northern District of Texas, FY2016– › Stalking and Harassment: Northern District of Texas
In brief: In the Northern District of Texas, 51 people were sentenced for stalking/harassing offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of those, 45 (88%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 27 months. Nearly all, 49 of 51 (96%), pleaded guilty.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 51 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 Many People Were Sentenced, and to What?
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 51 people sentenced in this district for its offense type "Stalking/Harassing" over fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Each fiscal year begins on October 1 of the prior calendar year. The offense type is the Commission's own category, so it groups several federal statutes together.
45 of the 51 (88%) were sentenced to prison. 5 (10%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 27 months (2.2 years). A quarter received 60 months or more, and a quarter received 18 months or less.
Where Sentences Fell Against the Guideline Range
For all 51 people, the sentence was within the guideline range in 49% of cases (25 people). It was above the range for 29% (15 people). It was below the range without a government request for 18% (9 people), and below the range at the government's request for 4% (2 people).
Across all 94 federal districts, 47% of stalking/harassing sentences were within the range. The share above the range is the notable feature here, though the counts are small. The sheet does not give the all-district share above the range, so that comparison cannot be made.
Guilty Pleas and Trials
49 of 51 people (96%) pleaded guilty, and 2 were convicted after a trial. Across all 94 districts, the guilty plea rate for this offense type was 92%. For all offenses in this district, it was 98%.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 25 months. After a trial it was 63 months, but that figure rests on only 2 people. A difference between 2 people and 49 people cannot show how pleas and trials compare in general.
Among those who pleaded guilty, 84% had a written plea agreement, and 16% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Which Guidelines Applied
The most common primary guideline was §2A6.1 (Threatening or Harassing Communications), with 43 people. The next was §2A6.2 (Stalking or Domestic Violence), with 7 people.
No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 51 people with that information recorded (0%). Among all offenses in the district, by comparison, the median prison term was 60 months.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution
42 people (82%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 6 (12%), and restitution for 9 (18%).
In terms of criminal history, 55% were in the lowest category and 8% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so that measure has no military counterpart.
Counts by Year
The district had 12 stalking/harassing sentencings in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 39 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. Yearly counts were between 2 and 8 people. With so few people each year, the yearly medians in the table move widely and should not be read as a trend.
These cases were less than 1% of the 14,591 people sentenced in this district over the period.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 3 | 60 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2017 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 |
| 2018 | 4 | 13.5 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2019 | 3 | 18 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2020 | 7 | 18 months | 6 of 7 |
| 2021 | 8 | 24.5 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2022 | 5 | 24 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2023 | 5 | 42 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2024 | 6 | 12 months | 5 of 6 |
| 2025 | 8 | 60 months | 8 of 8 |
What These Records Cannot Show
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it, so the figures say nothing about how many cases ended without a conviction. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court, and these numbers describe federal cases only.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Texas (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Texas North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Stalking/Harassing" (51). 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 Texas, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Texas, 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.