United States v. Mateen, No. 12-4481 (6th Cir. 2014)
Annotate this CaseMateen pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2252(a)(4)(B) after police discovered more than 600 images of child pornography on his computer. In 2006, Mateen had pleaded guilty to Gross Sexual Imposition in violation of Ohio Revised Code 2907.05. The state-court plea colloquy indicated that his victim was an eight-year-old girl. The district court imposed a 10-year statutory maximum term of imprisonment, concluding that a statutory enhancement (18 U.S.C. 2252(b)(2)) for recidivist sexual offenders did not apply to because Mateen’s prior conviction for Gross Sexual Imposition did not necessarily involve a minor or ward. The Sixth Circuit initially affirmed, but subsequently vacated and remanded, concluding that the phrase “involving a minor or ward” modifies only its direct antecedent, “abusive sexual conduct,” and not all three listed categories of conduct: “aggravated sexual abuse,” “sexual abuse,” and “abusive sexual conduct.” Only state crimes relating to abusive sexual conduct need involve a minor or ward in order to trigger enhancement under section 2252(b)(2).
This opinion or order relates to an opinion or order originally issued on January 7, 2014.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.