United States v. Oscar Gallegos-Galindo

The question before us on this appeal is whether the district court, when sentencing the defendant-appellant Oscar Gallegos-Galindo, properly included a crime of violence enhancement based on the court’s conclusion that the defendant’s prior Washington State third-degree rape conviction qualified as a forcible sex offense under the United States Sentencing Guidelines (“the Guidelines”). See U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 2L1.2 cmt. n. l(B)(iii). Because the Guidelines were amended in 2008 to include as a forcible sex offense any sex offense involving the absence of the victim’s consent, we conclude that the district court did not err in entering the crime of violence enhancement in these circumstances and therefore affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On February 15, 2011, U.S. Border Patrol agents observed a group of persons walking in the Arizona desert. Suspecting that they had illegally entered the country, the agents arrested the members of the group, including the defendant-appellant Oscar Gallegos-Galindo.

On March 16, 2011, a Tucson grand jury returned an indictment charging Gallegos-Galindo with reentry as a removed alien in violation of 8 U.S.C. §…