United States v. Dahl, No. 15-2271 (3d Cir. 2016)
Annotate this CaseDahl placed advertisements on Craigslist seeking sexual encounters with young males. Two undercover law-enforcement agents, acting independently, replied, representing themselves as 15-year-old boys. Through email, Dahl engaged in graphic sexual conversations, requested photographs of the boys, and attempted to arrange in-person sexual encounters. An agent agreed to meet Dahl at his house, ostensibly for a sexual encounter. Dahl was arrested and pleaded guilty to attempted use of an interstate commerce facility to entice a minor to engage in sexual conduct, 18 U.S.C. 2422(b); attempted enticement of a minor to travel in interstate commerce to engage in sexual activity, section 2422(a); and transfer of obscene material to a minor, section 1470. Dahl has Delaware convictions related to sexual activity with minors, including a 1991 conviction of first- and third-degree unlawful sexual contact relating to encounters with two 17-year-old boys and a 2001 conviction of second-degree unlawful sexual contact relating to an encounter with a 14-year-old boy. The court sentenced him under the Repeat and Dangerous Sex Offender guideline, U.S.S.G. 4B1.5, to the top-range sentence of 293 months in prison, with 20 years of supervised release. The Third Circuit remanded, finding that his state convictions are not categorically “sex offense convictions” under the Guidelines, in light of recent Supreme Court rulings.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.