Appeals Court Rejects 'Shockingly High' 19-Year Sentence for Child Porn Collection

4-18-17:

The 2nd Circuit says the recommended prison term was "substantively unreasonable."

When Joseph Jenkins went on vacation in May 2009, he brought his collection of child pornography with him. That decision led to a prison sentence so severe that a federal appeals court yesterday deemed it "substantively unreasonable" in a decision that shows how mindlessly punitive federal sentencing guidelines for child pornography offfenses have become.

Canadian border agents found Jenkins' child pornography on a laptop and a thumb drive as he was driving from his home in Geneva, New York, to his parents' summer house in Quebec. After Jenkins skipped bail in Canada, he was charged under U.S. law. In 2014 he was convicted of possessing and transporting child pornography, and a federal judge sentenced him to nearly 19 years in prison, followed by 25 years of supervised release. Given the nature of Jenkins' crimes, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit ruled, the judge "went far overboard."

The 2nd Circuit's decision illustrates the impact of congressional edicts that call for stiff sentencing enhancements based on factors that are routine in child pornography cases. Jenkins' criminal history was limited to a single misdemeanor, he did not produce or distribute child pornography, and his crimes did not involve contact with minors. Yet U.S. District Judge Glenn Suddaby calculated that the recommended sentence was 210 to 262 months, thanks mainly to enhancements for using a computer, for possessing more than 600 images (with each video counting as 75 images), for possessing images of prepubescent children, and for possessing images featuring masochistic, sadomasochistic, or other violent content. "These enhancements," the 2nd Circuit notes, "have caused Jenkins to be treated like an offender who seduced and photographed a child and distributed the photographs and worse than one who raped a child." ..Continued.. by Jacob Sullum|