United States v. Nicole Devilbiss

Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit·Decided June 29, 2026·No. 24-12252·Unpublished

Opinion

NOT FOR PUBLICATION

In the

United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit

No. 24-12252

Non-Argument Calendar

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee,

versus

NICOLE DANIELLE DEVILBISS, Defendant-Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida D.C. Docket No. 3:23-cr-00153-WWB-LLL-1

Before BRANCH, ABUDU, and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM:

Nicole Danielle Devilbiss appeals her 51-month sentence for conspiracy to create and distribute animal crush videos, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 48(a)(2) & (3). On appeal, Devilbiss argues that

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2 Opinion of the Court 24-12252

the district court clearly erred in applying an enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(a), making her ineligible for a reduction under U.S.S.G. § 4C1.1, and that her sentence is substantively unreasonable . After careful review, we affirm.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND & PROCEDURAL HISTORY1 A grand jury indicted Nicole Danielle Devilbiss with conspiracy to create and distribute animal crush videos, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 48(a)(2) & (3). Devilbiss pled guilty. Before sentencing , a probation officer prepared a presentence investigation report (“PSI”) which described, at length, Devilbiss’s offense conduct . In short, between April 14, 2022, and May 23, 2023, Devilbiss was part of a Telegram 2 group that crowdfunded the creation of videos depicting the torture, mutilation, and murder of animals in other countries.

Relevant here, the PSI determined that Devilbiss should be subject to an enhancement, under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(a), because she was an organizer or leader of the criminal activity and the activity involved five or more participants or was otherwise extensive. In support of this enhancement, the PSI reported that Devilbiss became the “head administrator” of the Telegram group in June 2022 and had the ability to remove individuals from the group. Other participants referred to her as “the new owner” of the group, who would “run[] the show” and “call[] the shots,” and she referred to

1. We write only for the parties, so we omit a lengthy recitation of the facts.

2 Telegram is a cloud based multi-platform chat application.

24-12252 Opinion of the Court 3

herself as “currently the owner of the chat.” She also explained that she had “the control to remove those” in the group that “lurk[ed] in the shadows.” Devilbiss personally sent at least three payments to conspirators to fund the production and procurement of videos. In messages to the group, Devilbiss also discussed obtaining monkeys of her own to create videos, though she never followed through on that plan.

The PSI also provided mitigating information about Devilbiss ’s life and personal characteristics, including that she was the mother of three young children and that she suffered from ADHD, PTSD, major depressive disorder, anxiety, and opioid dependence disorder. It also noted that Devilbiss had been the victim of domestic violence on several occasions. Included with the PSI was a letter and public petition from an animal welfare group. The letter stated that it had thousands of signatures requesting Devilbiss receive the maximum sentence. The attached petition included many vulgar and derogatory comments, including statements calling Devilbiss “human waste” and stating that she “deserves to rot in hell” or face the death penalty for her conduct.

Devilbiss objected to the imposition of the organizer/leader enhancement under § 3B1.1(a). She argued that she was simply a participant in a Telegram group that engaged in the criminal conduct and that Telegram groups are democratic by design. Accordingly , though she held the name “administrator” within the group, she argued that this was a misnomer and insufficient for the organizer /leader enhancement. She also noted that there were three

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other administrators in the Telegram group, suggesting that she did not have any more power over the group’s content, name, membership, or finances than other members. She argued that, if the organizer/leader enhancement were removed, she would qualify for a reduction under U.S.S.G. § 4C1.1. Devilbiss argued for a sentence of 21 months’ imprisonment in light of the factors in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a).

At sentencing, Devilbiss reiterated her objections to the PSI’s guidelines calculations. She also argued that the court should not consider the public petition which was submitted with the PSI. The court overruled her objection about the petition, noting that the petition was “relevant for what it’s worth . . . but [would not be] the basis for [its] decision in this case.” The government, which agreed that the court could consider the petition, also made clear that it was “not advocating for any of the positions expressed” in the petition. 3 The court then returned to Devilbiss’s guidelines objections.

Devilbiss argued that, despite her title, her actions were similar to “that of every other . . . group member.” The court expressed concern that Devilbiss was “effectively running this group, and the other group members saw her as the leader of the group.” Devilbiss disagreed, noting that she did not have control over users, and only nominally had control over the group itself. The government submitted messages from the Telegram group chat showing

3 The court agreed to remove any record of the petition from the public

docket, reasoning that it should only be part of the sealed PSI.

24-12252 Opinion of the Court 5

instances where Devilbiss attempted to add people to the group, exercised control with other administrators, and led discussions about planning the group’s activities. Based on Devilbiss’s “statements and her activity, along with those of the others,” the court found that the role enhancement applied, noting that Devilbiss “took a significant role in this organization and others saw her as such” and that she could properly be described as “a major role player without being the only role player.” Therefore, it also overruled Devilbiss’s objection regarding the zero-point offender reduction .

As a result, the court adopted the guidelines calculations and the factual statements in the PSI. Noting that the guidelines range was 41 to 51 months’ imprisonment, the court asked the parties for their positions on what would be an appropriate sentence. Devilbiss argued that her personal characteristics were mitigating, including her struggles with opioid dependency, domestic violence, and a lack of mental health and psychological resources. The district court expressed that, while what Devilbiss had gone through was difficult, her conduct went “well beyond anything that was ever perpetrated on her.” Devilbiss also stated that she was ashamed and embarrassed by her conduct and noted that others involved in the scheme—and similar schemes—had received short sentences. Devilbiss allocuted, apologizing to the animal rights activists , the animals, and to each person affected by her actions.

The government contended that Devilbiss’s conduct was extremely aggravating, and it highlighted several of the messages she

6 Opinion of the Court 24-12252

had sent to the Telegram group. It also argued that Devilbiss’s devices contained numerous videos of violence against animals in “cruel,” “depraved,” “heinous,” and “egregious” ways. It further noted that Devilbiss’s statements comparing humans to monkeys made Devilbiss “a danger” to humans as well as to animals. It also argued there were important distinctions between the comparator cases Devilbiss cited and Devilbiss’s own behavior. It therefore asked for a sentence at the top end of the guidelines range.

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