UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Gibson DIA, Jr., Defendant-Appellant

Defendant Dia appeals his resentencing on a conviction for aggravated sexual abuse, claiming the district court erred in not reducing his offense level based on “acceptance of responsibility.” We review under the clearly erroneous standard, and affirm.

I.

Dia denied all wrongdoing when first approached about the allegations against him. He claimed to have never had sex with complainant, refused to give a blood sample for testing until ordered to by the court, and demanded a trial on his guilt. After conviction, Dia admitted to having sex with the complainant, but maintained that it was voluntary.

Dia appealed his conviction to this court. In this first appeal, Dia challenged the treatment of a prior conviction in calculating his offense level. In an unpublished disposition we remanded for resentencing. After the remand, and prior to the resentencing, Dia wrote a letter to the sentencing judge claiming remorse for his actions. At the resen-tencing, he again spoke of his sorrow for the pain he had caused and asked that his offense level be reduced on the basis he had “accepted full responsibility” for his actions. U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1. The district court refused to apply…