United States v. Zuniga-Galeana, No. 14-1994 (7th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseZuniga entered the U.S. unlawfully from Mexico in 1989. In 1991, he was convicted of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. Zuniga, 30 years old, was in a consensual relationship with a 15-year-old girl. Illinois law criminalizes “sexual conduct with a victim who is at least 13 years of age but under 17 years of age [if] the person is at least 5 years older than the victim.” He and the girl maintained their relationship and had four children together. After his conviction, Zuniga was deported. He returned, again unlawfully, and remained, without incident until 2007, when he was arrested following an altercation with his eldest child. In 2013, Zuniga pleaded guilty to illegal reentry, 8 U.S.C. 1326(a). According to the plea agreement, Zuniga would receive two criminal-history points and a 16-level upward adjustment because he was previously deported after a “crime of violence” and a 3-level reduction for acceptance of responsibility. With a guidelines range of 41 to 51 months, the court sentenced him to 41 months. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, rejecting an argument that the categorical approach requires a narrower understanding of the generic definitions of “sexual abuse of a minor” and “statutory rape,” two crimes of violence enumerated under the guidelines, and that the 16-level increase overstated the seriousness of the conviction.
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