RV, Defendant. 14-CR-0316

Case 1:14-cr-00316-JBW Document 53 Filed 01/22/16 Page 1 of 101 PageID #: <pageID> UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 14-CR-0316 – against – Statement of Reasons for Sentencing Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § R.V., 3553(c)(2) Defendant. Appearances For United States: Peter W. Baldwin United States Attorney’s Office Eastern District of New York 271 Cadman Plaza East Brooklyn, NY 11201 718-254-7000 [email protected] For Defendant: Len H. Kamdang Federal Defenders of New York Inc. One Pierrepont Plaza, 16th Floor Brooklyn, NY 11201 718-407-7414 [email protected] Case 1:14-cr-00316-JBW Document 53 Filed 01/22/16 Page 2 of 101 PageID #: <pageID> JACK B. WEINSTEIN, Senior United States District Judge: Table of Contents I. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 Varying Degrees of Culpability of Child Pornography Offenders ..................... 1 Consistency in Sentencing .................................................................................. 5 Defendant in Instant Case ................................................................................... 6 II. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY ........................................................................ 6 Background ......................................................................................................... 7 Sexual History ..................................................................................................... 9 Child Pornography .............................................................................................. 9 Arrest .............................................................................................................. 10 Mental Health Treatment .................................................................................. 11 Administration for Children Services ............................................................... 13 Guilty Plea ........................................................................................................ 13 III. EXPERTS ......................................................................................................................... 14 A. Medical ............................................................................................................. 14 1. Credentials ..................................................................................................... 15 2. Methodology and Diagnosis .......................................................................... 16 3. Findings ....................................................................................................... 17 a. Transition to Child Pornography ........................................................ 17 b. No Physical Threat to Children .......................................................... 22 c. Recidivism Risk ................................................................................. 23 4. Recommendation for Sentence ...................................................................... 24 B. Social Worker ................................................................................................... 26 C. Family .............................................................................................................. 28 IV. SENTENCE IMPOSED.................................................................................................... 28 V. SENTENCING CONTEXT .............................................................................................. 29 A. Shifting Societal Norms .................................................................................... 29 B. Changing Technological Landscape ................................................................. 31 1. Personal Computer Revolution ...................................................................... 31 2. Internet Revolution ........................................................................................ 32 a. Broadband Revolution........................................................................ 35 b. Rise of Mobile Connectivity .............................................................. 36 c. Rise of Social Media .......................................................................... 38 d. Emergence of the Cloud ..................................................................... 38 C. How Internet Revolution Enabled Child Pornography Consumption .............. 39 D. Connection between Child Pornography Consumers and Child Molesters ...... 48 E. Child Pornography’s Continued Harm to Children .......................................... 55 F. Effects of Excessive Punishment on Defendants and Families ........................ 56 VI. SENTENCING LAW ....................................................................................................... 67 Discretion of Sentencing Judge in Determining Appropriate Punishment ....... 67 Applicable Statute ............................................................................................. 67 Case 1:14-cr-00316-JBW Document 53 Filed 01/22/16 Page 3 of 101 PageID #: <pageID> Advisory Nature of the Sentencing Guidelines ................................................ 68 1. Section 3553(a) Factors ................................................................................. 68 2. Departures Based on Section 3553(b)(2) Factors .......................................... 70 3. Departures Based on Disagreement with Commission Policy ...................... 71 4. Departures: Statement of Reasons Required ................................................ 72 Restitution ......................................................................................................... 72 VII. APPLICATION OF LAW TO FACTS ........................................................................... 75 Guidelines Sentencing Range ........................................................................... 75 Analysis of Section 3553(a) Factors ................................................................. 76 1. Nature and Circumstances of Offense; History and Characteristics of Defendant ....................................................................................................... 76 2. Purposes of Sentencing .................................................................................. 77 3. Kinds of Sentences Available ........................................................................ 82 4. Guidelines, Policy, and Other Criteria of Sentencing Commission .............. 82 5. Unwarranted Sentence Disparities ................................................................. 85 a. Increased below-Guidelines sentences in non-production cases ........ 85 b. Increased non-prison sentences in possession-only cases .................. 91 6. Restitution ...................................................................................................... 92 Policy Considerations ....................................................................................... 93 VIII. CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................. 97 Case 1:14-cr-00316-JBW Document 53 Filed 01/22/16 Page 4 of 101 PageID #: <pageID> I. Introduction Varying Degrees of Culpability of Child Pornography Offenders This adult defendant viewed child pornography in his home on his computer. He also participated in electronic “chat room” sexual conversations with minor females. His sentencing demands consideration of the manifold relevant differences among child pornography offenders. Under the federal criminal code, child pornography viewing through computers is a serious felony. The theory is that (1) computer depiction of children being sexually exploited creates a permanent widespread record of abuse, perpetuating and potentially exacerbating the harm initially suffered by the victim in the production, and (2) acquisition of these images encourages abuse of children in their production since viewers create demand. Prosecution under the current sentencing framework has largely failed to distinguish among child pornography offenders with differing levels of culpability and danger to the community. The applicable structure does not adequately balance the need to protect the public, and juveniles in particular, against the need to avoid excessive punishment, with resulting unnecessary cost to defendants’ families and the community, and the needless destruction of defendants’ lives. One of the foundational rules of our criminal justice system is that punishment should be commensurate with the crime—its threat to society. The need to tailor sentences to the dangers and needs of the individual being sentenced (and his family and community) are also foundational. Proportionality in sentencing encourages a fair system. Increasingly, judges, prosecutors, advocates and concerned citizens have recognized that the current sentencing approach to child pornography offenders is often unfair, unreasonable, cruel, and conceptually deficient. 1 Case 1:14-cr-00316-JBW Document 53 Filed 01/22/16 Page 5 of 101 PageID #: <pageID> Child pornography offenders can be broadly divided into two main categories: those who produce child pornography and those who are viewers of child pornography. By definition, producers of child pornography are child molesters, frequently representing the worst and most dangerous type of offender. Non-production offenders, by contrast, encompass

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