Opinion ID: 1042115
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Reingold’s Sentencing

Text: In its PSR to the district court, the Probation Department advised that Reingold’s crime of conviction was subject to a mandatory minimum prison sentence of five years pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 2252(b)(1). Further, based on Sentencing Guidelines calculations yielding a total offense level of 35 and a criminal history category of I, the PSR reported that Reingold’s recommended sentencing range was 168 to 210 months’ imprisonment.8 The district court viewed the case quite differently. Rejecting the Probation Department’s application of various enhancements to Reingold’s Guidelines calculation, the district court concluded that the applicable Sentencing Guidelines range in Reingold’s case was 63 to 78 months’ imprisonment.9 The district court further determined that Reingold 7 Because no party challenges the sufficiency of Reingold’s plea allocution or of these findings by the district court in support of its decision to accept the plea, we deem any challenge to the plea itself forfeited and do not discuss it further in this opinion. 8 The Probation Department arrived at offense level 35 by starting with a base offense level of 22, see U.S.S.G. § 2G2.2(a)(2), to which it added two points for the presence of pre-pubescent images, see id. § 2G2.2(b)(2); two points for distribution in a manner not otherwise described in the Guidelines, see id. § 2G2.2(b)(3)(F); five points for a pattern of abuse, based on Reingold’s molestation of his half-sister, see id. § 2G2.2(b)(5); two points for use of a computer, see id. § 2G2.2(b)(6); and five points for possession of 600 or more images of child pornography, see id. § 2G2.2(b)(7)(D); after which it subtracted three points for timely acceptance of responsibility, see id. § 3E1.1. 9 The district court agreed that Reingold’s base offense level was 22, that enhancements were warranted for the presence of pre-pubescent images and for the 8 should not be sentenced even within that reduced Guidelines range because such a term of imprisonment was greater than necessary to achieve the objectives of 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). Insofar as Congress had statutorily mandated a prison sentence of at least five years for any defendant guilty of distributing child pornography, the district court concluded that such a sentence would constitute cruel and unusual punishment in Reingold’s case given his particular immaturity and the relative passivity of his crime. See United States v. C.R., 792 F. Supp. 2d at 509–10. Accordingly, the district court sentenced Reingold to 30 months’ imprisonment, five years’ supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. It recommended that Reingold serve his term in the FMC Devens Sex Offender Treatment Program and allowed him to self-surrender.10