U.S. v. Nelson, No. 23-50449 (5th Cir. 2024)
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Christopher Dallas Nelson pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography. The Presentence Investigation Report (PSR) revealed that Nelson possessed 3,699 images, including 196 images of his seven-year-old daughter and 25 images of his five-year-old daughter. Nelson admitted to downloading child pornography and taking images of his older daughter but denied producing images of his younger daughter. He also attempted to obstruct justice by hiding a laptop and cellphone containing evidence. Nelson's total offense level under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines was 43, and he filed objections to the PSR.
The United States District Court for the Western District of Texas sentenced Nelson to 240 months in prison, a $250,000 fine, additional restitution and special assessments totaling $10,100, and supervised release for life. The court imposed mandatory and standard conditions of supervised release and added discretionary special conditions barring Nelson’s access to the Internet. Nelson objected to these special conditions, and the court’s written judgment contained less severe versions of the Internet-related conditions. Nelson timely appealed.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reviewed the case. The court affirmed the district court's denial of a sentencing reduction for acceptance of responsibility, finding no abuse of discretion. The court also found that the written judgment conflicted with the oral pronouncement regarding Internet restrictions, holding that the oral pronouncement controls. Finally, the court held that the district court abused its discretion by imposing a lifetime Internet ban without exceptions, as it was not narrowly tailored. The court affirmed Nelson’s sentence except for the special conditions of supervised release, vacated the Internet-related conditions, and remanded for further proceedings.
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