United States v. Hector Carreon

632 F. App'x 902
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedDecember 3, 2015
Docket14-50075
StatusUnpublished

This text of 632 F. App'x 902 (United States v. Hector Carreon) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Hector Carreon, 632 F. App'x 902 (9th Cir. 2015).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM *

Hector Manuel Carreon .was convicted of production of child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a); attempted production of child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a); receipt of child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(2); and three counts of possession of child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(4)(B). He appeals the district court’s denial of his motion to sup *904 press statements from an in-home interview, the sufficiency of the evidence to support two of his convictions, and various aspects of his 50-year sentence. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and we affirm.

1.Whether a defendant was “in custody” for purposes of Miranda is reviewed de novo. United States v. Kim, 292 F.3d 969, 973 (9th Cir.2002). The voluntariness of statements to police is also reviewed de novo. United States v. Haswood, 350 F.3d 1024, 1027 (9th Cir.2003).

Even assuming that Carreon was in custody for purposes of Miranda or that his statements were involuntary and the district court erred in concluding otherwise, any error would be harmless — the admission of the statements did not contribute to the verdict obtained. See United States v. Barnes, 713 F.3d 1200, 1207 (9th Cir.2013) (per curiam).

The only arguably “incriminating” statements Carreon made during the in-home interview were that he was the sole user of the relevant computers and that he used file-sharing programs such as LimeWire. Other evidence elicited at trial, however, established the same. Carreon’s wife testified that Carreon was the sole user of the computers. Carreon’s convictions are based on self-recorded videos. The video forming the basis for the receipt count was found in a “Limewire” folder within a user-created folder entitled “Hector Manuel Carreo” [sic]. As to the possession counts, the illicit files were found in a “Shared” folder created by LimeWire, within a user-created folder called “Hector.” The production and attempted production convictions were based on self-recorded videos that Carreon himself appeared in. His statements during the in-home interview were thus at most cumulative of other evidence of guilt established at trial.

2. We review a claim of insufficient evidence de novo. United States v. Stewart, 420 F.3d 1007, 1014 (9th Cir.2005). “A conviction is supported by sufficient evidence if, ‘viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, a rational trier of fact could conclude that the evidence was adequate to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.’ ” United States v. Whittemore, 776 F.3d 1074, 1078 (9th Cir.2015) (quoting United States v. Barbosa, 906 F.2d 1366, 1368 (9th Cir.1990)).

The “Made in China” and “Made in Tokyo” label evidence was sufficient to support the jurisdiction element for counts 1 and 2. See United States v. Alvarez, 972 F.2d 1000, 1004 (9th Cir.1992) (per curiam) (holding that an inscription on a gun does not constitute hearsay and could be used by the government to show that the gun had been manufactured in Spain), overruled on other grounds by Kawashima v. Mukasey, 530 F.3d 1111, 1116 (9th Cir.2008); United States v. Clawson, 831 F.2d 909, 913 (9th Cir.1987) (holding that evidence of a gun’s foreign manufacturer is sufficient to support a finding that the gun moved in interstate commerce).

3. The 34-second video was sufficient evidence to support a conviction of attempted production of child pornography. See 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a) (criminalizing the use of a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purposes of making a visual depiction of that conduct); 18 U.S.C. § 2256(2)(A)(iii), (v) (defining “sexually explicit conduct” to include “masturbation” and “lascivious exhibition of the genitals ... of any person.”).

4. The district court’s interpretation of the Sentencing Guidelines is reviewed de novo; its application of the Guidelines to the facts of the case is reviewed for abuse of discretion; and its factual findings are reviewed for clear error. United States v. Vallejos, 742 F.3d 902, 905 (9th Cir.2014).

*905 Under the child pornography sentencing guidelines, “distribution” can be found when the defendant knowingly “used a file-sharing program to download child pornography that, whether knowingly or unknowingly, allowed others access to those files.” Id. at 908. Carreon knowingly used the file-sharing program Lime-Wire and did not present any evidence to suggest ignorance of how the program worked. Thus, the district court did not err in applying a 2-level enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2G2.3(b)(3)(F) for an offense involving distribution. Likewise, the district court did not err in denying a 2-level reduction under U.S.S.G. § 2G2.2(b)(1) for lack of intent to distribute. See id. at 908 n. 5 (there is “presumed intent to distribute” when one uses a file-sharing program in the manner previously described).

The district court also did not err when it calculated the offense level for the grouped receipt and possession counts. See U.S.S.G. § 3D1.3, cmt. n. 3 (“Determine whether the specific offense characteristics ... apply based upon the combined offense behavior taken as a whole.” (emphasis added)).

It was not an abuse of discretion to apply a 5-level enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2G2.2(b)(5)(F) for a pattern of activity involving the sexual abuse or exploitation of a minor because Carreon’s conduct fits squarely within the Guideline note’s definition. See U.S.S.G. § 2G2.2, cmt. n.

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Related

United States v. Arthur Minkoff Clawson
831 F.2d 909 (Ninth Circuit, 1987)
United States v. Andes-Mar Pereira Barbosa
906 F.2d 1366 (Ninth Circuit, 1990)
United States v. Insook Kim, AKA in Sook Kim
292 F.3d 969 (Ninth Circuit, 2002)
United States v. Charley B. Haswood
350 F.3d 1024 (Ninth Circuit, 2003)
United States v. Michael Barnes
713 F.3d 1200 (Ninth Circuit, 2013)
United States v. Maurice Smith
719 F.3d 1120 (Ninth Circuit, 2013)
Kawashima v. Mukasey
530 F.3d 1111 (Ninth Circuit, 2008)
United States v. Cherer
513 F.3d 1150 (Ninth Circuit, 2008)
United States v. Eric Vallejos
742 F.3d 902 (Ninth Circuit, 2014)
United States v. F. Whittemore
776 F.3d 1074 (Ninth Circuit, 2015)
United States v. Alvarez
972 F.2d 1000 (Ninth Circuit, 1992)

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Bluebook (online)
632 F. App'x 902, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-hector-carreon-ca9-2015.