> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Federal Stalking and Harassment Sentences in the Southern District of Florida, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-stalking-harassing-sentences-southern-district-of-florida/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:07:35.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:07:35.000Z - Description: In the Southern District of Florida, 81 people were sentenced for stalking and harassing offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 69 (85%) received a prison term, with a median of 18 months. In all 94 federal districts, the median was 24 months. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Florida, FY201](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-southern-district-of-florida/) › Stalking and Harassment: Southern District of Florida **In brief:** In the Southern District of Florida, 81 people were sentenced for stalking and harassing offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. 69 (85%) received a prison term, with a median of 18 months. In all 94 federal districts, the median was 24 months. Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025 This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 81 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/). ## Median Prison Term of 18 Months The U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type "Stalking/Harassing" includes 81 people sentenced in this district. 69 (85%) received a prison term, and 8 (10%) received probation only. A quarter of those sent to prison received 36 months or more, and a quarter received 10 months or less. The terms are sentences imposed by the court, not time actually served. Across all 94 districts, the Commission counted 2,263 people. 89% were sent to prison, and the median was 24 months. This district's prison share and median were both lower. ## Which Guidelines Applied The most common primary guideline was §2A6.1 (Threatening or Harassing Communications), with 58 people. 18 people were sentenced under §2A6.2 (Stalking or Domestic Violence). Stalking and harassing cases were less than 1% of the 17,081 people sentenced in the district. For all offenses here, the median prison term was 32 months. ## No Mandatory Minimums A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 81 people with that information recorded. Supervised release was ordered for 68 people (84%), and the median term was 36 months. A fine was ordered for 3 people (4%), and restitution for 17 (21%). ## Guideline Range Results Guideline information was recorded for 76 people. 41 of them (54%) were sentenced within the range. 6 people (8%) were below the range at the government's request, and 21 (28%) were below it without that request. 8 people (11%) were above the range. Nationally, 47% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the share was 55%. ## Pleas and Trials A total of 74 people (91%) pleaded guilty, and 7 were convicted after a trial. Nationally, 92% pleaded guilty. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 18 months. After a trial it was 27 months, based on 6 people sent to prison. Among guilty pleas, 81% had a written plea agreement, and 18% were straight pleas with no agreement. ## Criminal History and Yearly Counts Criminal history scores place 71% in the lowest category, category I, and 8% in the highest, VI. Military records have no equivalent field. Fiscal years here run from October 1 through the end of the next September. The yearly count ranged from 4 people in fiscal year 2016 to 14 people in fiscal year 2025\. The yearly median prison term ranged from 12 months to 24 months. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 4 | 12 months | 4 of 4 | | 2017 | 6 | 23 months | 6 of 6 | | 2018 | 10 | 13 months | 90% | | 2019 | 10 | 18 months | 100% | | 2020 | 10 | 24 months | 90% | | 2021 | 6 | 14.1 months | 6 of 6 | | 2022 | 5 | 15 months | 5 of 5 | | 2023 | 8 | 16.5 months | 7 of 8 | | 2024 | 8 | 24 months | 6 of 8 | | 2025 | 14 | 24 months | 86% | ## What the Records Cannot Show Yearly counts of this size do not establish a trend. The data does not describe the relationship between the people involved or the conduct in any case. People who were acquitted or whose cases were dismissed are not counted. Military courts handle courts-martial, so they are outside these numbers. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Florida (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Florida South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Stalking/Harassing" (81). 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article) - [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts) - [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method) - [Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Florida, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-southern-district-of-florida/) (overview) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Florida, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-southern-district-of-florida/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Florida, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-southern-district-of-florida/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Florida, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-southern-district-of-florida/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Florida, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-southern-district-of-florida/) (same district, other offense type) - [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source) - [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.