Federal Stalking and Harassment Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025
Of the 17 people sentenced for stalking or harassing offenses in the Western District of Kentucky in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 15 (88%) received a prison term. The median was 30 months, higher than the 24 months for this offense type in all 94 districts. 12 of the 17 were sentenced within the guide
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, FY201 › Stalking and Harassment: Western District of Kentucky
In brief: Of the 17 people sentenced for stalking or harassing offenses in the Western District of Kentucky in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 15 (88%) received a prison term. The median was 30 months, higher than the 24 months for this offense type in all 94 districts. 12 of the 17 were sentenced within the guideline range.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 17 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.
Sentences Close to the Guideline Range
Within the range were 12 of the 17 sentences (71%). Below the range at the government's request were 3 (18%), and below it without such a request were 2 (12%). None was above the range.
For this offense type in all districts, 47% of sentences were within the range. Across all offenses in this district, the figure was 37%. The share here is higher than both.
Prison Terms
Among the 15 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 30 months, or 2.5 years. A quarter received 35 months or more, and a quarter received 2.2 months or less. One person (6%) received probation only.
In all districts, 2,263 people were sentenced for stalking or harassing offenses, and 89% were sent to prison. For all offenses in this district, the median prison term was 57 months. No mandatory minimum applied to any of the 17 people.
Guilty Pleas and Trials
Of the 17 people, 15 (88%) pleaded guilty and 2 were convicted after a trial. In all districts, 92% pleaded guilty for this offense type, and across all offenses in this district, 97% did.
The median prison term was 15 months after a guilty plea and 69 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 2 people, which is too few to compare pleas and trials. Every guilty plea had a written plea agreement.
Which Guidelines Were Used
The Commission's offense type "Stalking/Harassing" is sorted by primary guideline. In this district, 12 people were sentenced under §2A6.1 (Threatening or Harassing Communications), and 3 under §2A6.2 (Stalking or Domestic Violence).
These cases are less than 1% of the 3,229 people sentenced in the district. This post reports federal numbers only and does not describe the facts of any case.
Recent Years Have Most of the Cases
The district sentenced 3 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 14 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. No year has more than 4 people, and the medians in the table range from 0 months to 41.5 months.
Counts this small do not support a trend. A fiscal year runs from October 1 through the end of September.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 2 | 15 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2020 | 1 | 0.5 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 2 | 41.5 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2023 | 4 | 30 months | 3 of 4 |
| 2024 | 3 | 36 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2025 | 4 | 17 months | 3 of 4 |
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
After prison, 14 people (82%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 2 people (12%) and restitution for 2 (12%).
On criminal history, 53% were in the lowest category and 24% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
What the Records Cannot Show
Fort Knox, Kentucky is in the district and appears in this site's court-martial data. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court. The federal data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are not included.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Kentucky (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Kentucky West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Stalking/Harassing" (17). 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 Western District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, 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.