United States v. John Dougal

MEMORANDUM

John Ainerd Dougal appeals from the district court’s judgment and challenges the 260-month sentence imposed following his guilty-plea conviction for using a minor to produce a visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2 and 2251(a). We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

Dougal contends that the district court procedurally erred by failing to explain the sentence adequately, to address Dougal’s comparative culpability, and to respond to evidence that Dougal represented a low recidivism risk. We review for plain error, see United States v. Valencia-Barragan, 608 F.3d 1103, 1108 (9th Cir.2010), and conclude that the court did not err. The court listened to Dougal’s mitigation evidence, considered the differences between Dougal and his codefendant, and sufficiently explained the reasons for imposing the sentence. See United States v. Carty, 520 F.3d 984, 992 (9th Cir.2008) (en banc) (“The district court need not tick off each of the § 3553(a) factors to show that it has considered them.”).

Dougal also contends that his sentence is substantively unreasonable. The district court did not abuse its discretion in…