United States v. Jason Shouse

Jason Charles Shouse appeals a sentence imposed by the district court following his guilty plea to one count of production of child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2251 (a) and one count of penalties for registered sex offenders in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2260A. Shouse’s advisory sentencing guideline range was 360 to 720 months for both counts. The district court sentenced Shouse within this guideline range- — 480 months’ imprisonment for the production of child pornography offense, a mandatory consecutive term of 120 months’ imprisonment for the penalties for registered sex offenders count, and a small assessment, for a total of 50 years’ imprisonment followed by a lifetime term of supervised release. We affirm the sentence imposed by the district court.

I. Sentence Enhancement Challenge

At issue is United States Sentencing Guideline § 2G2.1(b)(4), which falls under sentencing enhancements for “sexually exploiting a minor by production of sexually explicit visual or printed material.” U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 2G2.1 (2012). Section 2G2.1(b)(4) provides a four-level sentence enhancement “[i]f the offense involved material that portrays sadistic or…