United States v. Olson

667 F.3d 958, 2012 WL 97525, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 783
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
DecidedJanuary 13, 2012
Docket11-1609
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 667 F.3d 958 (United States v. Olson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eighth 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. Olson, 667 F.3d 958, 2012 WL 97525, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 783 (8th Cir. 2012).

Opinions

[960]*960MURPHY, Circuit Judge.

Timothy James Olson pled guilty to possession of materials involving the sexual exploitation of minors, materials discovered during a state investigation into his sexual abuse of his stepdaughter. The district court sentenced Olson for his federal offense to 108 months consecutive to his state sentence and to a life term of supervised release with several special conditions. Olson appeals, arguing that the district court violated Tapia v. United States, — U.S.-, 131 S.Ct. 2382, 180 L.Ed.2d 357 (2011) in imposing the consecutive sentence and erred in imposing a special condition prohibiting him from possessing material which depicts or describes sexually explicit conduct. We vacate and remand for resentencing.

Olson reported himself to North Dakota authorities for sexually abusing his stepdaughter. The abuse had begun when she was five years old and continued until she was twelve or thirteen. In the course of interviewing Olson’s stepdaughter, police learned that he possessed child pornography. Olson consented to a search of his computer by federal agents. On the computer they discovered over 2,000 images and nine videos depicting children engaged in sexually explicit conduct, including images of prepubescent girls, babies, and sadistic and masochistic conduct.

While the federal investigation continued, Olson pled guilty in state court to continuous sexual abuse of a child and was sentenced by the state judge to 60 years imprisonment, half of which was suspended. Olson then pled guilty in federal court under 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(4)(B) to possession of materials involving the exploitation of minors.

At his federal sentencing, Olson described his interest in child pornography as an “addiction” and said he had “become powerless to it.” Olson testified that his interest was so intense that he could not wait to get home from work and masturbate to his collected images even when his stepdaughter was present. Olson stated that his attempts to control his addiction were unsuccessful, and he attributed the abuse of his stepdaughter in part to his consumption of child pornography. He told the district court that he used the material to “whet [his] appetite” and to teach his stepdaughter that sexual conduct was normal. Olson also told the judge that he had been participating in a self help group in state prison to try to overcome his addiction and was seeking any treatment opportunity available.

The district court acknowledged the recommended total offense level in the presentence investigation report, but it stated that it would not apply the report’s recommended five level enhancement for a pattern of activity involving the sexual abuse or exploitation of a minor. Because Olson was serving an undischarged prison term for his state offense which was also the basis for the recommended five level enhancement, his federal sentence would have been presumptively concurrent to the state sentence if the district court had used the enhancement to increase Olson’s offense level. See U.S.S.G. § 5G1.3(b). Application of the recommended pattern of activity enhancement would have led to an offense level of 33 and a guideline range of 151-188 months.

The district court explained that it “intend[ed] to impose at least some portion of the sentence consecutive to the state sentence.” Since the district court declined to impose the enhancement, Olson’s offense level was 28 with a guideline range of 87-108 months. Without the enhancement there was no guideline presumption that the sentence would be concurrent, U.S.S.G. § 5G1.3(c), and under 18 U.S.C. § 3584, “[m]ultiple terms of imprisonment [961]*961imposed at different times run consecutively unless the court orders that the terms are to run concurrently.” See also United States v. Lomeli, 596 F.3d 496, 504 (8th Cir.2010).

Before imposing Olson’s consecutive federal sentence, the district court addressed all of the sentencing factors in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). It commented first on the “exceptionally egregious” nature of Olson’s offense, both in terms of the number and nature of the pornographic images he collected, describing him as “a profoundly disturbed individual.” The court then discussed the need for the sentence to reflect the “seriousness of the offense, promote respect for the law, and provide just punishment,” and to “afford adequate deterrence to criminal conduct generally.” It emphasized the need to protect the public from further crimes by the defendant and stated that “hands-on offenders are people that have historically been at high risk to recidivate.” The district court also explained that:

Providing the defendant with the appropriate and effective medical and correctional treatment in the most effective manner possible, all of that I think is something that needs to be taken into consideration. The federal Bureau of Prisons ... operates a treatment system that the Court believes is frankly better than anything that the State of North Dakota offers and that the defendant is a person that really can’t be trusted in the community without some meaningful treatment.

The district court imposed a sentence of 108 months to run consecutively to Olson’s state sentence and apparently to ensure that Olson could receive “meaningful treatment” in the federal prison system. It also provided for a lifetime of supervised release. As one of the conditions of that release, the court prohibited Olson from “possessing] any materials ... depicting [or] describing ‘sexually explicit conduct’ as defined at 18 U.S.C. §§ 2256(2) and 2256(8).” Olson argues that the district court violated the Supreme Court’s recent Tapia decision by imposing a consecutive sentence for the purpose of treatment and rehabilitation. He also objects to the special condition of release that prohibits him from possessing sexually explicit materials.

The Supreme Court decided Tapia after Olson’s sentencing. In Tapia, it held that a sentencing court “may not impose or lengthen a prison sentence to enable an offender to complete a treatment program or otherwise to promote rehabilitation.” Tapia v. United States, — U.S.-, 131 S.Ct. 2382, 2393, 180 L.Ed.2d 357 (2011). The Court based its decision on 18 U.S.C. § 3582(a), which instructs sentencing courts to “recogniz[e] that imprisonment is not an appropriate means of promoting correction and rehabilitation.” Id. at 2388-91. Although a sentencing court can “discuss[ ] the opportunities for rehabilitation within prison or the benefits of specific treatment or training programs,” it may not “select[ ] the length of the sentence” to ensure completion of a rehabilitation program. Id. at 2392. After examining the district court’s statements at Tapia’s sentencing, the Court reversed, concluding that “the record indicates that the [district] court may have ...

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

United States v. Rodney Smith
Eighth Circuit, 2025
United States v. Dionne Ackerley
911 F.3d 519 (Eighth Circuit, 2018)
United States v. Christopher Holdsworth
830 F.3d 779 (Eighth Circuit, 2016)
United States v. Scott Pitts
592 F. App'x 531 (Eighth Circuit, 2014)
United States v. Scott Schupp
488 F. App'x 170 (Eighth Circuit, 2012)
People v. Lientz
2012 COA 118 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 2012)
United States v. Taylor
679 F.3d 1005 (Eighth Circuit, 2012)
United States v. Pickar
666 F.3d 1167 (Eighth Circuit, 2012)
United States v. Olson
667 F.3d 958 (Eighth Circuit, 2012)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
667 F.3d 958, 2012 WL 97525, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 783, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-olson-ca8-2012.