U.S. v. Oberg

Dist. Ct. did not err in imposing 30-year sentence on charges of sexual exploitation of minor and possession of visual depictions of minor under age 12 engaging in sexually explicit conduct, where said charges arose out of discovery of 337 photographs and three sexually explicit videos of defendant’s 5-year-old daughter on defendant’s computer. Instant sentence was within applicable guideline range, and although defendant argued that instant sentencing range was unduly severe, and that instant sentence was substantively unreasonable, where he had no relevant criminal history and no history of participating in similar conduct with other victims, Dist. Ct. could properly reject defendant’s policy argument that guideline range imposed too lengthy sentences.  Moreover, Dist. Ct. could emphasize seriousness of instant offense when considering and then rejecting defendant’s arguments seeking lower sentence.