United States Ninth Circuit

A sentence for coercing and enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity and possession of child pornography is affirmed where: 1) for purposes of applying a two-level enhancement for misrepresentation of identity, the district court reasonably could have concluded that defendant was misrepresenting his identity in a prolonged effort to groom what he thought was a thirteen-year-old girl for illicit sexual contact; and 2) a vulnerable victim enhancement, and an enhancement for sadistic or masochistic conduct portrayed in the illegal images at issue, were not improperly "double counted" when applied to the sentence.

Appellate Information

• Argued 11/06/2007
• Decided 12/05/2007
• Published 12/05/2007

Judges

• GOULD, Circuit Judge:, Before:  WILLIAM C. CANBY, JR., SUSAN P. GRABER, and RONALD M. GOULD, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Cynthia K. Smith, Smith Jasper, P.C., Missoula, MT, for the defendant-appellant., Eric B. Wolff and Marcia Hurd, Assistant United States Attorneys, Billings, MT, for the plaintiff-appellee.