United States v. Doutt, No. 18-3750 (6th Cir. 2019)
Annotate this CaseDoutt obtained child pornography online using a video conferencing application that was being monitored by the federal government. Charge with receipt of child pornography, Doutt agreed to undergo a polygraph examination. Among other incidents, Doutt admitted that he had engaged in sexual activity with a boy, M.R., nearly 40 years earlier. Doutt stated that he was 16 and M.R. was “a year or two younger.” Doutt later changed his response and recalled that M.R. was 11 or 12. These sexual encounters continued for several years. After Doutt pleaded guilty, the court applied a sentencing enhancement for a “pattern of activity involving the sexual abuse or exploitation of a minor,” U.S.S.G. 2G2.2(b)(5). “Sexual abuse” is defined by reference to various criminal statutes— including one that forbids sexual activity with a minor between the ages of 12 and 16 “if the perpetrator was at least four years older than” the minor. The Sixth Circuit vacated the sentence. The district court erred when it simply took Doutt’s age, subtracted M.R.’s age, and concluded that Doutt was four years older than M.R. “A straightforward days-and-months approach” applies to 18 U.S.C. 2243: “at least four years” older means at least 1,461 days (365 multiplied by four, plus one leap day) or 48 months older. The age difference between M.R. and Doutt could have been merely three years and one day.
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