Opinion ID: 3026522
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Plea Negotiations and the Presentence Report

Text: Although Kenrick previously had pleaded not guilty, on July 7, 2005, pursuant to the plea agreement he reached with the government, he changed his plea to guilty. During Kenrick’s change of plea hearing, Kenrick and the government agreed that the 2004 Sentencing Guidelines applied and that a sentence at the upper end of the guidelines 5 range (i.e., approximately 46 months) would be both reasonable and appropriate.4 Id. at 25-26. Kenrick agreed as well to register as a convicted sex offender upon his release from prison. Id. at 34. The district court accepted Kenrick’s guilty plea, as set forth in the plea agreement. Id. at 36. In anticipation of Kenrick’s sentencing hearing, the United States Probation Office prepared a Presentence Report (“PSR”). Relying on the 2003 version of the Sentencing Guidelines, the United States Probation Office applied U.S.S.G. § 2A3.2(a)(1), resulting in a base offense level of 24. To this total, it added 4 levels: 2 under U.S.S.G. § 2A3.2(b)(1) because the victim was in Kenrick’s custody, care, or supervisory control and 2 under U.S.S.G. § 2A3.2(b)(3) because Kenrick used a computer or Internet access device to persuade, induce, entice, or coerce the victim to engage in prohibited sexual conduct. With a 3-level reduction for acceptance of responsibility under U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1, the Probation Office calculated Kenrick’s total offense level to be 25. Combined with a criminal history category of I, this total offense level yielded a sentencing guideline range of 57 to 71 months’ incarceration. Additionally, the PSR indicated that 4 Specifically with respect to Kenrick’s sentence, the parties agreed that the court should apply U.S.S.G. § 2A3.2, resulting in a base offense level of 18. To this base level, 6 levels were added: 4 under U.S.S.G. § 2A3.2(b)(1) because the victim was in Kenrick’s custody, care, or supervisory control and 2 under U.S.S.G. § 2A3.2(b)(3) because Kenrick used a computer or Internet access device to persuade, induce, entice, or coerce the victim to engage in prohibited sexual conduct. With a 3-level reduction for acceptance of responsibility under U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1, Kenrick’s total offense level was calculated to be 21. Combined with a criminal history category of I, this yielded a sentencing guideline range of 37 to 46 months’ incarceration. 6 the court could impose a lifetime term of supervised release on Kenrick.5 Kenrick objected to the calculations in the PSR, arguing that the court should apply the 2004, rather than the 2003, version of the Sentencing Guidelines, pursuant to the parties’ plea agreement. Additionally, Kenrick disagreed with the PSR’s statements that he had committed various sexual acts it listed.6 On November 3, 2005, the district court ruled on Kenrick’s objections to the PSR. The court agreed with Kenrick that it should apply the 2004, rather than the 2003, version of the Sentencing Guidelines. App. at 55 (“The court agrees with defendant that the parties are capable and competent to enter into a plea agreement specifying which version of the sentencing guidelines [is] to be used and stipulating to various sentencing factors and even specific sentences or ranges (bounded by the statutory minimums and maximums).”). The court added, however, that “[i]n arriving at an appropriate sentence,” it would “consider[] the numerous statutory factors set forth in section 3553.” Id. Finally, the court accepted as true those fact findings of the PSR not in dispute.