US v. Colcord, No. 22-1550 (1st Cir. 2024)
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In this case, defendant Jason Colcord, appealed his sentence for knowingly accessing and viewing over 900 child pornography images. Colcord pled guilty to this charge and was subsequently sentenced to 145 months imprisonment, which was near the low end of his advisory guidelines sentencing range, followed by five years of supervised release. The defendant challenged his sentence on the grounds that the court's decision not to impose a downward variance was substantively unreasonable.
The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed the lower court's decision. The court found that the district court's sentence was substantively reasonable. It noted that the district court had considered the nature of the offense, the need to protect the public, the defendant's personal history, and the need for punishment and deterrence, all of which are factors under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). The court rejected Colcord's argument that the district court conflated his conduct with those who committed more serious crimes depicted in the images and videos, stating that the comments were referring to Colcord's role as a consumer of child pornography.
The court also rejected Colcord's argument that insufficient weight was given to his personal mitigating circumstances, stating that the district court was within its discretion to find that these factors were outweighed by the seriousness of the offense and the need to protect the public.
Lastly, the court dismissed Colcord's argument that the district court should have accepted the parties' joint recommendation of a 120-month sentence. The court stated that the district court is not bound by the parties' recommendations as to the length of the sentence to be imposed. The court also found no evidence that the district court had imposed the sentence based on personal disgust towards the offense, as claimed by the defendant.
Therefore, the court affirmed the district court's sentence of 145 months imprisonment followed by five years of supervised release.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on January 17, 2024.
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