United States v. John Francis Williams

684 F. App'x 767
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedApril 3, 2017
Docket15-15254
StatusUnpublished

This text of 684 F. App'x 767 (United States v. John Francis Williams) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh 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. John Francis Williams, 684 F. App'x 767 (11th Cir. 2017).

Opinion

HULL, Circuit Judge:

Defendant John Williams appeals his conviction, as well as his sentence of 120 months’ imprisonment and subsequent 10 years’ supervised release. A jury found Williams guilty on one count of having used the internet to attempt to induce a minor to engage in sexual activity, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2422(b). On appeal, Williams argues that the district court erred in: (1) refusing to entertain a selective prosecution claim based on Williams’s socio-economic status; (2) precluding expert witness testimony concerning Williams’s susceptibility to inducement to commit this crime; and (3) refusing to modify the pattern jury instructions on reasonable doubt and entrapment at Williams’s request. After review of the record and the briefs, and with the benefit of oral argument, we affirm Williams’s conviction and sentence.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Undercover Law Enforcement Operations

From October 10, 2012, through October 15, 2012, the Volusia County, Florida Sheriffs Office conducted an undercover “sting” operation targeting individuals who were seeking, via the internet (“Craig-slist”), to have sexual relations with minors. The operation led to the arrest of twenty-three individuals including Williams, a sixty-six-year-old cardiac anesthesiologist.

B. Offense Conduct

On October 11, 2012, Tallahassee Police Sergeant Sonia Bush, who was working as part of the Volusia County Sheriffs Office investigation, posted an advertisement in the “personals,” “casual encounters” section of Craigslist entitled, “still need help, need teacher-w4m-43 (Ormond beach).” “W4m” stood for “Women for men.” The body of the ad read, “Been trying to find the right discreet man to teach my daughter.”

Twenty minutes later, Williams responded to the ad, saying, “[W]hat age group are you interested in? ? 56 yo nice looking professional, very gentle and romantic.” He identified himself as “John.” Sergeant Bush responded, saying, “[N]ot really looking for age range,,, looking for experience, gentleness, and patience,, and of course someone who is good at teaching a 14-year-old young lady.” Twenty minutes after that, Williams responded, saying, “Not for me sorry[.] John cell (803) 429 4924.”

Sergeant Bush then asked Williams why he gave her his number if he was not interested. Williams responded:

Well when you told me her age I was afraid of a legal situation.
How would I know this is not a trap? ? can we exchange pics? ? or can you give me more info/description? ?
[[Image here]]
meet for brunch and talk this over ?'?

Sergeant Bush responded by sending a picture of a young girl on a swing, explaining that “Sydney” was 14 years old and *770 petite, with long dark hair and hazel eyes. Sergeant Bush said that she did not know how to ease his fears that he was being trapped but that, although she was not interested in men, her daughter was.

The next morning, on October 12, 2012, Williams responded by sending a picture of himself and saying, “I am sending my pic, see what she thinks[.]” When Sergeant Bush did not respond, Williams contacted her again a few hours later, saying, “[G]uess you found someone to meet your needs ? ?” and, “Nicole, I am guessing you found a better match for your needs but if you havent I hope you will still consider me[.] John.”

At 6:30 p.m. that evening, Sergeant Bush replied, telling Williams that she still had not found anyone. Two minutes later, Williams asked her if she had received his picture and told her that he was in the Port Orange, Florida area.- Williams then asked again whether she had received his picture and told her that he was in Port Orange. Williams asked her if they would like to meet for something to eat or drink and said, “[w]e could talk it over and check each other out.” Sergeant Bush told him that she had received- his picture and would show it to her daughter when she got home. Williams told her that he would wait for her reply.

Later that day, Sergeant Bush told Williams that she was “in the process of screening different men” and that “the biggest thing I need to know is what you would teach her.” In response, Williams sent Sergeant Bush a long message, describing in detail how he planned to perform a variety of sexual acts with the girl.

At that point, Sergeant Bush showed the emails to her supervisors, who determined that probable cause existed that a crime had been committed. Sergeant Bush then responded to Williams, saying that everything sounded wonderful except that her daughter wanted “her first time to be in her bedroom.” Williams replied that would be fine but that they had to meet first. Sergeant Bush suggested that Williams come over to her house where her daughter could make dinner. After exchanging more messages, Williams agreed to come to the mother’s house that night. Sergeant Bush provided Williams with directions to her home.

That night, Williams traveled to the address that Sergreant Bush gave him. Once Williams arrived, he got out of his car and approached the front door carrying a towel, a plastic grocery bag, and a canvas bag. Law enforcement agents arrested Williams as he opened the door.

• Williams’s grocery bag contained two bottles of wine, condoms, surgical scrub pants, a man’s bathrobe, two bottles of lubricant, several sex toys, shaving cream and a razor, toothpaste, a toothbrush, and two hairbrushes. A subsequent search of Williams’s vehicle revealed a large variety of additional sex toys and devices, as well as ointments and lubricants. Williams had far more paraphernalia than necessary to commit this single crime.

Further, following his arrest, Williams told a federal agent that he owned his own plane and had flown from his home in South Carolina to Florida on October 10, 2012, the day before he began exchanging emails with Sergeant Bush.

C. Williams’s State Court Case and Transfer

Following Williams’s arrest, Williams was charged in state court with: (1) use of a computer to seduce, solicit, or lure a child, in violation of Fla. Stat. § 847.0135(3)(a); (2) traveling to meet a minor after use of a computer to solicit a child, in violation of Fla. Stat. § 847.0135(4)(a); and (3) unlawful use of a *771 two way communication device, in violation of Fla. Stat. § 934.215.5. All of the twenty-two other arrestees also arrested during the Volusia County Sheriffs Office’s October 10-October 15, 2015 undercover operation were charged with the same three state law crimes.

In February 2013, the Assistant State Attorney (“ASA”) assigned to Williams’s case, Tiffany Adleman, received a telephone call from Immigration and Custom Enforcement Special Agent Joe Grey.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
684 F. App'x 767, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-john-francis-williams-ca11-2017.