Federal Stalking and Harassment Sentences in the Western District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025
In the Western District of Pennsylvania, 18 people were sentenced for stalking or harassing offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 17 (94%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 30 months (2.5 years), higher than the 24 months across all 94 districts and lower than the 48 months for
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Western District of Pennsylvania, F › Stalking and Harassment: Western District of Pennsylvania
In brief: In the Western District of Pennsylvania, 18 people were sentenced for stalking or harassing offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 17 (94%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 30 months (2.5 years), higher than the 24 months across all 94 districts and lower than the 48 months for all offenses in this district.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 18 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 Compared With the Rest of the District and the Country
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 18 people in this district whose offense type was "Stalking/Harassing." Of these, 17 (94%) received a prison term, and none received probation only.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 30 months (2.5 years). A quarter received 37.1 months or more, and a quarter received 18 months or less.
Across all districts, 89% were sent to prison for this offense type, and the median prison term was 24 months. Here the share sent to prison was higher, and the median was higher.
Which Guidelines Defined the Category
§2A6.1 (Threatening or Harassing Communications) was the primary guideline for 11 people. §2A6.2 (Stalking or Domestic Violence) was the primary guideline for 6.
These cases were less than 1% of the 4,460 people sentenced in the district in the period. The records do not describe the facts of any case.
Pleas and Trials
Of the 18 people, 16 (89%) pleaded guilty, and 2 were convicted after a trial. Nationally, 92% pleaded guilty for this offense type, and 98% did so for all offenses in this district.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 24 months. After a trial it was 60 months, based on 2 people. A group of 2 is too few to compare trials with pleas in general.
Of the guilty pleas, 94% had a written plea agreement and 6% were straight pleas.
Position Against the Guideline Range
Exactly 9 of the 18 people (50%) were sentenced within the guideline range. Another 4 (22%) were sentenced below the range without a government request, and 3 (17%) were sentenced below it at the government's request. A total of 2 (11%) were sentenced above the range.
The national share within the range was 47%, which is about the same as here. For all offenses in this district it was 38%.
Mandatory Minimums, Supervised Release, and Restitution
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 3 of the 18 people (17%).
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 16 people (89%), with a median term of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 5 people (28%), and no fine was ordered.
In criminal history, 72% were in the lowest category and 6% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts by Year and Limits of the Records
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 6 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 12. The table lists the fiscal years with cases, and each has 1 to 4 people. A single year, such as 2023 with 1 person, cannot show a trend.
Fiscal years run from October through September. The data includes only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are missing. Prison terms are those imposed, not time served.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 | 21 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2018 | 2 | 18 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2019 | 3 | 18 months | 2 of 3 |
| 2021 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2022 | 4 | 30 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2023 | 1 | 72 months | 0 of 1 |
| 2024 | 4 | 24 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2025 | 2 | 46.5 months | 2 of 2 |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Pennsylvania (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Penn. West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Stalking/Harassing" (18). 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 Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Western District of Pennsylvania, 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.