18 U.S.C. § 2426
Section 2426 · Repeat offenders
Amended 5 times on record
Applied in 40 court decisions — leading case United States v. Broxmeyer (2012)
Most recently applied in United States v. Anthony Red Elk (March 2025)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(a) Maximum Term of Imprisonment.—The maximum term of imprisonment for a violation of this chapter after a prior sex offense conviction shall be 3 times the term of imprisonment otherwise provided by this chapter, unless section 3559(e) applies.
(b) Definitions.—In this section—
(1) the term "prior sex offense conviction" means a conviction for an offense—
(A) under this chapter, chapter 109A, chapter 110, or section 1591; or
(B) under State law or the Uniform Code of Military Justice for an offense consisting of conduct that would have been an offense under a chapter referred to in subparagraph (A) if the conduct had occurred within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States; and
(2) the term "State" means a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2024—Subsec. (b)(1)(B). Pub. L. 118–159 inserted "or the Uniform Code of Military Justice" after "State law".
2018—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 115–392, §11(2)(A), substituted "3 times" for "twice".
Subsec. (b)(1)(B). Pub. L. 115–392, §11(2)(B), substituted "subparagraph (A)" for "paragraph (1)".
2008—Subsec. (b)(1)(A). Pub. L. 110–457 substituted "chapter 110, or section 1591" for "or chapter 110".
2003—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 108–21 inserted ", unless section 3559(e) applies" before period at end.