United States v. Franklin, No. 13-1519 (10th Cir. 2015)
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Defendant Richard Franklin, subscribed to a website called "GigaTribe" which allowed him to approve other subscribers as "friends," allowing them into his "tribe." For his so-called "tribe," Franklin posted previews of pornographic images of children. In posting the previews, Franklin determined which pornographic images to share and with whom. When "friends" were given access, they could choose what they liked, download the images, and share these images with other subscribers. Franklin was found guilty on five counts of possessing and distributing child pornography, including
advertisement or notice of child pornography. The sentencing guidelines called for life imprisonment, and the district court imposed five consecutive sentences totaling 100 years. On appeal, Franklin argued the evidence did not support the conviction on advertisement or notice, that the total years of imprisonment involved a substantively unreasonable sentence, and that the district judge improperly found facts (without jury findings) necessary to justify the long sentence. The Tenth Circuit rejected these arguments and affirmed.
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