Latest Case: United States v. Nelson (Criminal Law)

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United States v. Nelson

Docket: 20-3154

Opinion Date: January 21, 2021

Judge: Per Curiam

Areas of Law: Criminal Law

Nelson pleaded guilty to distributing visual depictions of real minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, 18 U.S.C. 2252(a)(2). At sentencing, the parties disputed whether Nelson’s prior Ohio conviction for attempted rape of a minor qualified as a predicate offense for a sentencing enhancement. The district court sentenced Nelson to the enhanced statutory minimum term of 180 months of imprisonment. The Sixth Circuit affirmed, rejecting Nelson’s argument that his attempted rape conviction under a statute that does not require that the defendant have physical contact with the victim, did not trigger the section 2252(b)(1) enhancement, which applies to prior convictions “relating to aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse, or abusive sexual conduct involving a minor.” Sexual abuse covers actions that “injure, hurt, or damage for the purpose of sexual or libidinal gratification.” Applying the categorical approach, the court examined the elements of the Ohio statute, not the specific facts underlying the conviction, and reasoned that the ordinary meaning of the phrase “relating to” is broad. An attempt conviction “clearly stands in some relation to or pertains to the crimes of aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse, or abusive sexual conduct involving a minor” and qualifies as a predicate offense for the enhancement.