Federal Stalking and Harassment Sentences in the Western District of Oklahoma, FY2016–2025
26 people were sentenced for stalking and harassing offenses in the Western District of Oklahoma in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 23 of them (88%) received a prison term, with a median of 46 months, compared with 24 months across all 94 federal districts.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Western District of Oklahoma, FY201 › Stalking and Harassment: Western District of Oklahoma
In brief: 26 people were sentenced for stalking and harassing offenses in the Western District of Oklahoma in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 23 of them (88%) received a prison term, with a median of 46 months, compared with 24 months across all 94 federal districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 26 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 Were Longer Than the National Median
Among the 23 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 46 months (3.8 years). A quarter received 60 months or more, and a quarter received 17 months or less. 2 people (8%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.
In all 94 districts, the offense type "Stalking/Harassing" had 2,263 people, 89% sent to prison, and a median of 24 months. The median here was higher. It was about the same as the 46 months for all offenses in this district.
Threat and Stalking Guidelines Lead
Stalking and harassing is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's category. The most common primary guidelines were §2A6.1 (Threatening or Harassing Communications) with 14 people and §2A6.2 (Stalking or Domestic Violence) with 12.
The group accounts for less than 1% of the district's 4,661 sentenced people.
More Sentences Above the Guideline Range
62% of sentences (16 people) were within the guideline range. 19% (5 people) were above the range, 15% (4 people) were below it without a government request, and 4% (1 person) were below it at the government's request.
The rate for all districts was 47% of sentences for this offense type within the range. Counting every offense type, the district's rate was 50%. The counts are small, so each person moves the percentages noticeably.
Every Person Pleaded Guilty
26 of 26 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and 0 were convicted after a trial. The records therefore have no trial sentences to compare with plea sentences.
31% of the guilty pleas were straight pleas with no agreement, and 69% had a written agreement.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
22 people (85%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. A mandatory minimum applied to 1 of the 25 people with that information recorded (4%).
A fine was ordered for 3 people (12%), and restitution for 2 (8%). 31% of the people were in the lowest criminal history category I, and 23% were in the highest (VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Few People in Each Year
6 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 20 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. Years without any sentenced people are not in the table.
Yearly counts run from 1 to 5 people. The median in the table is 133 months for 2021 and 13 months for 2016, but groups this small do not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 2 | 13 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2017 | 1 | 18 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2018 | 3 | 46.5 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2020 | 3 | 46 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2021 | 3 | 133 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2022 | 3 | 41 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2023 | 3 | 15 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2024 | 5 | 51 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2025 | 3 | 30 months | 3 of 3 |
What the Data Cannot Say
Only convictions that led to a sentence are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are outside the dataset.
A prison term in this data is the term ordered at sentencing rather than time served.
This page does not tie any of these cases to a military installation. Altus AFB, Fort Sill, and Tinker AFB lie in the district, and their courts-martial go through military courts.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Oklahoma (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Oklahoma West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Stalking/Harassing" (26). 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 Western District of Oklahoma, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Oklahoma, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Oklahoma, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Oklahoma, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Oklahoma, 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.