United States v. Coulter

133 F.4th 1083
Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit·Decided April 15, 2025·No. 24-6026·Published

Opinion

FILED

United States Court of Appeals PUBLISH Tenth Circuit

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS April 15, 2025

Christopher M. Wolpert

FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT Clerk of Court

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. No. 24-6026 GERMAINE COULTER, SR., a/k/a Slim,

Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma (D.C. No. 5:18-CR-00156-D-1)

John M. Bowlin, Bowlin & Schall LLC, Greenwood Village, Colorado, for Defendant- Appellant.

Jackson D. Eldridge, Assistant United States Attorney (Robert J. Troester, United States Attorney, with him on the brief), United States Attorney’s Office, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for Plaintiff-Appellee.

Before TYMKOVICH, CARSON, and FEDERICO, Circuit Judges.

TYMKOVICH, Circuit Judge.

Germaine Coulter was found guilty of child sex trafficking and conspiracy to commit child sex trafficking and was sentenced to 360 months of imprisonment. The district court ordered Coulter to pay a total of $386,000 in restitution to the two victims

he harmed. Coulter appeals, arguing the government fails to demonstrate he is the but-for cause of the victims’ injuries. He further challenges the district court’s determination of the restitution award amount, claiming it is unsupported by evidence in the record.

We AFFIRM. The government met its burden in showing Coulter was a but-for cause of the victims’ losses. The district court, moreover, did not abuse its discretion in ordering Coulter to pay ten years of ongoing individual therapy, psychiatric treatment, and medication for the two victims based on the evidence presented in the record.

I. Background1

A. Procedural History Coulter was charged with: (1) conspiracy to commit child sex trafficking of Doe 1 and Doe 2; (2) child sex trafficking with respect to Doe 1; and (3) child sex trafficking with respect to Doe 3. At trial, he was ultimately found guilty on Counts One and Two by a jury verdict and was subsequently sentenced to 360 months of imprisonment on each count, to be served concurrently.2 Coulter appealed his conviction and sentence; but we affirmed both the guilty verdict and his sentence.

1 The facts surrounding this case were discussed in full in Coulter’s previous appeal and are well known to the parties. See United States v. Coulter, 57 F.4th 1168, 1176 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 143 S. Ct. 2627 (2023). We therefore incorporate the facts included in our previous opinion and present only an abbreviated version of the factual and procedural history as relevant to this appeal. We also note the record is sealed in this matter.

2 Elizabeth Andrade, Coulter’s co-defendant, pleaded guilty to a one-charge superseding information charging her with conspiracy to commit child sex trafficking of Doe 1 and Doe 2. Andrade’s plea agreement requires her to pay restitution to all victims of her relevant conduct. She was ultimately sentenced to 78 months of imprisonment and five years of supervised release. Andrade did not join Coulter’s appeal.

After the appeal was resolved, the government filed a motion for restitution, requesting $1,145,900 for Doe 1 and $967,000 for Doe 2—a total sum of $2,112,900. The government also requested that Coulter and Andrade pay a $5,000 special assessment under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act (JVTA) for each count of conviction. The government’s motion relied on expert reports by a psychologist, Dr. Charles David Missar.

Before Coulter responded to the motion, the district court stayed briefing while this Circuit considered an appeal on a parallel issue: whether the government must establish a defendant’s actions are the but-for and proximate cause of a victim’s injuries for purposes of restitution under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA). See United States v. Anthony, 22 F.4th 943 (10th Cir. 2022) (“Anthony II”); see also United States v. Anthony, 942 F.3d 955 (10th Cir. 2019) (“Anthony I”).3 In Anthony I and Anthony II, we answered that question affirmatively. See Anthony II, 22 F.4th 943 (affirming the district court’s decision to not award restitution because the government failed to meet the but-for causation requirement).

B. Expert Reports and Restitution Hearing After this Circuit’s decision in Anthony II, the parties filed supplemental briefs and responses addressing the restitution issue. Both briefs largely refer to Dr. Missar’s two expert reports, which each provide an assessment of Doe 1 and Doe 2’s emotional functions and mental health, as well as their respective trauma sustained from being

3 Anthony I and Anthony II also involved expert reports by Dr. Missar.

sexually trafficked. See App. Vol. II, 246–53 (Doe 1 Report); id. at 82–93 (Doe 2 Report). The expert reports rely on interviews with the two victims, transcripts and documents from Coulter’s trial, medical records, victim impact statements, and various pleadings and orders filed in this case.

Dr. Missar opined that Doe 1 suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), severe depression, and dysthymia (a persistent depressive disorder) from the trauma of being sexually trafficked. He noted the “nexus between the emergence of these symptoms and her sexual trafficking is quite clear, and the ongoing symptoms4 . . . are directly linked . . . to that trafficking.” Id. at 252. Based on his assessment, Dr. Missar recommended Doe 1 needs various types of treatment, such as two intensive years and then a lifetime of both individual therapy and psychiatric treatment. He also opined that “the impact that sex trafficking had on [Doe 1] has . . . impaired her ability to work to her potential” and “interfered with her ability to continue her education.” Id. at 253. Dr. Missar therefore recommended lost work wages based on information from the Social Security Administration as to “the difference in lifetime earnings between those with a high school diploma compared to having some college work.” Id. Adding a lifetime of medication treatment, Dr. Missar calculated the following damages:

4 Dr. Missar noted Doe 1’s symptoms of trauma due to sex trafficking include “PTSD flashbacks to sex trafficking events, prolonged fear of [Coulter] to the point of anxiety being in public, [and] ongoing struggles with health and personal safety.” App. Vol. II, 252.

Dr. Missar separately opined that Doe 2 suffers from PTSD, dysthymia, and mood disorders due to the trauma of being sexually trafficked. He noted Doe 2’s attention- deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and learning disorder likely predated her sex trafficking, but were also exacerbated by it. Id. at 93. Dr. Missar thus recommended restitution for “tutoring to help her through any academic work that she is able to do over the next several years.” Id. Based on her injuries, Dr. Missar also advised Doe 2 similarly requires various types of treatment, including two intensive years followed by a lifetime of both individual therapy and psychiatric treatment. Adding a lifetime of medication treatment, Dr. Missar submitted the following calculated damages for Doe 2:

On December 28, 2023, the district court held a restitution hearing in which Dr.

Missar appeared as the only witness. Dr. Missar testified about his understanding of the

victims’ background and history, as well as the sustained trauma and injuries caused by Coulter. He also responded to questions related to the recommended treatment and therapy for Doe 1 and Doe 2.

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United States v. Coulter, 133 F.4th 1083 (10th Cir. 2025).

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