Case Name: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Jorge LIRA-XOCHICALE, a.k.a. Roger, a.k.a. Juan De Dios, a.k.a. Juan Diablo, Defendant-Appellant
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2014-12-18
Citations: 589 F. App'x 484
Docket Number: No. 14-10926
Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Jorge LIRA-XOCHICALE, a.k.a. Roger, a.k.a. Juan De Dios, a.k.a. Juan Diablo, Defendant-Appellant.
Judges: Before HULL, WILLIAM PRYOR and JULIE CARNES, Circuit Judges.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 589
Pages: 484–485

Head Matter:
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Jorge LIRA-XOCHICALE, a.k.a. Roger, a.k.a. Juan De Dios, a.k.a. Juan Diablo, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 14-10926
Non-Argument Calendar.
United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit.
Dec. 18, 2014.
R. Brian Tanner, James D. Durham, E. Gregory Gilluly, Jr., Tania D. Groover, Brian T. Rafferty, Edward J. Tarver, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Savannah, GA, Plaintiff-Appellee.
Steven Berne, Law Office of Steven Berne, Atlanta, GA, for Defendant-Appellant.
Jorge Lira-Xochicale, Atlanta, GA, pro se.
Before HULL, WILLIAM PRYOR and JULIE CARNES, Circuit Judges.

Opinion:
PER CURIAM:
Jorge Lira-Xochicale appeals his sentence of 66 months of imprisonment imposed for conspiring to transport a person in interstate commerce for purposes of prostitution, 18 U.S.C. § 371, and conspiring to harbor illegal aliens for purposes of financial gain, 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(l)(A)(v)(I). Lira-Xochicale argues that his sentence is unreasonable. We affirm.
The district court did not abuse its discretion by varying upward 15 months from the high end of Lira-Xochicale's advisory guideline range of 41 to 51 months of imprisonment. Lira-Xochicale and his co-conspirators smuggled women into the United States and used violence, intimidation, and threats of deportation to force them to engage in prostitution. Lira-Xo-chicale transported at least six prostitutes for the conspiracy, one of whom he called his "wife," and he converted his apartment into a makeshift brothel by hanging a sheet from the ceiling, placing a mattress on the floor, and providing condoms and containers of personal lubricant. The district court reasonably determined that a sentence of 66 months of imprisonment was required to address the "nature and circumstances of [Lira-Xochicale's] offense" and his "history and characteristics," and "to reflect the seriousness of [his] offense," "to promote respect for the law[,] . to afford some deterrence to criminal conduct[,] and to protect . further victims [against similar future] crimes [by Lira-Xochicale] and the members of the conspiracy." See 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). And Lira-Xochicale's 66-month term is substantially less than his statutory maximum sentence of 15 years of imprisonment. See United States v. Dougherty, 754 F.3d 1353, 1362 (11th Cir.2014).
The reasons provided by the district court were sufficiently compelling to justify the extent of its upward variance. See United States v. Irey, 612 F.3d 1160, 1186-87 (11th Cir.2010) (en banc). The district court explained that the recommended sentencing range failed to account for Lira-Xochicale's "integral part [in] the conspiracy"; his involvement with "more than eight victims"; his "coordination] [of] the transportation and delivery of prosti tutes with both of the main or lead defendants"; his "transport[ion][ofj many of the prostitutes between various locations throughout Georgia and other states"; and his actions "as a pimp for prostitutes in the . Atlanta, Georgia area." Lira-Xochi-cale's sentence is within the range of reasonable sentences for his role in the conspiracy. See id. at 1190. Lira-Xochicale argues that his "role in the offense . is not a basis for departing from th[e] [recommended sentencing] range," United States Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 5H1.7 (Nov.2013), but his sentence was the result of a variance, not a departure.
Lira-Xochicale argues that his conduct "falls squarely within the typical sex trafficking involving undocumented immigrants" and he received an unwarranted variance that deserves the "closer review" called for in Kimbrough v. United States, 552 U.S. 85, 109, 128 S.Ct. 558, 575, 169 L.Ed.2d 481 (2007), but we disagree. Lira-Xochicale's offense differs from a "mine-run ease," id. at 109, 128 S.Ct. at 575, where a conspirator smuggles illegal aliens into the United States and transports them for a prostitution ring. Although it might be commonplace for the conspirator to select a location for the prostitutes and to transport them, it is uncharacteristic for him to act as their pimp.
We AFFIRM Lira-Xochicale's sentence.