United States v. Dotson, No. 12-5662 (6th Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CaseDotson was charged with sexual exploitation of a minor, 18 U.S.C. 2251(a) and possession of child pornography, 18 U.S.C. 2252(a)(4)(B). Prior to trial, the government sought to enter a redacted version of the statement Dotson gave to the authorities following his arrest. Although Dotson requested that the statement be admitted in its entirety, the district court ruled that the redacted portions were inadmissible. A jury convicted Dotson on both counts, and the district court sentenced him to a prison term of 22 years. The Sixth Circuit upheld the evidentiary ruling, stating that omitted statements, indicating that Dotson had a rough upbringing and had been sexually abused as a child; that he considered his girlfriend to be a “blessing” and had intended to marry her, and his concern that the victim knew he was exploiting her, did not make any fact of consequence related to the statutory offenses more or less probable than it would have been without them. The court vacated certain conditions of supervised release in the sentence, relating to computer use and drug testing, because the district court did not articulate a rationale for imposing some of the conditions.
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