United States v. John Dennis Clark
Concurring Opinion
concurring.
Although I join the majority opinion to affirm, I am compelled to note that the government bears the burden to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, the applicability of the two-level sentencing enhancement for distribution of child pornography under U.S.S.G. § 2G2.2(b)(3)(F). See United States v. Williams, 709 F.3d 1183, 1186 (6th Cir. 2013). In United States v. Conner, 521 Fed.Appx. 493 (6th Cir. 2013), and United States v. Darway, 255 Fed.Appx. 68 (6th Cir. 2007), we upheld similar sentencing enhancements because the proof demonstrated that the defendants knowingly used peer-to-peer file-sharing programs such as LimeWire to distribute child pornography images on the internet. Here, the government’s evidence that Clark knowingly used Flickr to distribute child pornography was very thin, but the enhancement is warranted because Clark admitted distribution at his guilty plea hearing. Accordingly, I concur.
Opinion of the Court
John Dennis Clark appeals the district court’s judgment of conviction and sentence.
On appeal, Clark makes two arguments: (1) the district court’s application of the enhancement under § 2G2.2(b)(3)(F) resulted in improper double counting because the fact that he had distributed child pornography was taken into account by his conviction under § 2252A(a)(2); and (2) the district court erred by applying the enhancement under § 2G2.2(b)(5) because there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate that his prior alleged sexual abuse of a minor constituted a state or federal offense. We review the district court’s application of the Sentencing Guidelines de novo and its findings of fact for clear error. United States v. Bolton, 669 F.3d 780, 782 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 133 S.Ct. 230, 184 L.Ed.2d 120 (2012).
Despite Clark’s argument to the contrary, the district court’s application of the enhancement under § 2G2.2(b)(3)(F) did not result in improper double counting. See United States v. Reingold, 731 F.3d 204, 227-28 (2d Cir. 2013); United States v. Chiaradio, 684 F.3d 265, 282-83 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 133 S.Ct. 589, 184 L.Ed.2d 386 (2012).
Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s judgment.
. Clark's double-counting argument also appears to challenge the sufficiency of the evidence for the distribution enhancement, an issue that must rise to the level of plain error because he failed to present it to the district court. E.g., United States v. Yancy, 725 F.3d 596, 600-01 (6th Cir. 2013); United States v. Maye, 582 F.3d 622, 627 (6th Cir. 2009). In the absence of plain-error argument, we find none. See United States v. Dominguez Benitez, 542 U.S. 74, 82, 124 S.Ct. 2333, 159 L.Ed.2d 157 (2004). Moreover, his guilty-plea admission of distribution and his below-guidelines sentence belie that position.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. John Dennis CLARK, Defendant-Appellant
- Cited By
- 3 cases
- Status
- Unpublished