United States v. Joseph R. Gabourel, No. 06-2108 (8th Cir. 2006)
Annotate this CaseCourt Description: Criminal law. Defendant can be convicted of violating 18 U.S.C. Sec. 24422(b) even if the minor he attempted to solicit to engage in illegal sexual activity was, in fact, an undercover officer.
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United States Court of Appeals FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT ___________ No. 06-2108 ___________ United States of America, * * Appellee, * * Appeal from the United States v. * District Court for the * Western District of Missouri. Joseph R. Gabourel, also known as * jowee6869, * [UNPUBLISHED] * Appellant. * ___________ Submitted: November 14, 2006 Filed: November 22, 2006 ___________ Before BYE, JOHN R. GIBSON, and GRUENDER, Circuit Judges. ___________ PER CURIAM. Joseph R. Gabourel entered a conditional plea of guilty to using the Internet to attempt to entice a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2422(b), preserving the right to appeal the district court's1 denial of his motion to dismiss the indictment based on the defense of legal impossibility. The "minor" Gabourel solicited was an undercover police officer posing as a minor. Gabourel contends § 2422(b) requires the victim to be an actual minor. 1 The Honorable Gary A. Fenner, United States District Judge for the Western District of Missouri. This same contention has since been squarely addressed and rejected in United States v. Helder, 452 F.3d 751, 756 (8th Cir. 2006) ("[W]e hold that an actual minor victim is not required for an attempt conviction under § 2422(b)"); see also United States v. Hicks, 457 F.3d 838, 841 (8th Cir. 2006) (following Helder). Following Helder, we affirm the district court. ______________________________ -2-
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