Dist. Ct. did not err in sentencing defendant to within-Guidelines, 210-month term of incarceration on series of charges relating to his attempt to travel over state line to engage in illicit sexual activity with individual whom defendant believed to be 15-year-old boy. While defendant argued that Dist. Ct. violated “parsimony principal” of sentencing by presuming that Guidelines-range sentence is reasonable, Ct. of Appeals held that Dist. Ct.’s comments, when viewed in their entirety, indicated that Dist. Ct. applied section 3553(a) factors appropriately when imposing instant sentence, including Dist. Ct.’s observation that defendant posed risk to recidivate and had extensive criminal history that exhibited pattern of similar conduct. As such, Dist. Ct.’s observations demonstrated appropriate belief that Guidelines sentence satisfied goals of section 3553(a).
Federal 7th Circuit Court
Criminal Court
Sentencing