United States v. Beck, No. 17-4179 (4th Cir. 2020)
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The Fourth Circuit affirmed defendant's conviction and sentence for distributing child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2252A(a)(1) and to committing a felony offense involving a minor (specifically, producing child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2251) while being required to register as a sex offender in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2260A.
Although the court agreed with defendant that his appeal fell outside the scope of his waiver, the court rejected defendant's contention that section 2260A cannot support a conviction. The court concluded that section 2260A more closely resembles an offense rather than an enhancement. On its face, section 2260A includes three elements: a defendant (1) must be required to register as a sex offender and (2) must commit one of its sixteen enumerated offenses, which (3) must involve a minor. Whereas, an enhancement may only include two elements.
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