Opinion ID: 1037023
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: Strausbaugh next challenges the District Court’s denial of his motion for acquittal based on sufficiency of the evidence. We exercise plenary review over the grant or denial of a motion for acquittal. United States v. Mike, 655 F.3d 167, 174 (3d Cir. 2011). We must sustain a conviction if “any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt” when the evidence is viewed in the light most favorable to the government. Id. In support of his argument, Strausbaugh again contends that the “Canada picture” was not child pornography and urges that the government did not show a nexus to interstate commerce. Even if the picture that Strausbaugh emailed to the Canadian citizen did not constitute child pornography—and again, that is far from clear—several other photographs that Strausbaugh admitted to taking or helping to take certainly did. See Dost, 636 F. Supp. at 832 (listing factors courts consider in determining whether a visual image of a child is proscribed by 18 U.S.C. § 2256). Additionally, the government produced pictures and videos depicting child pornography seized from Strausbaugh’s home, which supports Strausbaugh’s possession conviction. Finally, there is no dispute that the Konica Minolta Dimage camera was used to take the photographs and that it was manufactured in Korea. This satisfies the interstate commerce jurisdictional “hook.” See United States v. Galo, 239 F.3d 572, 575-76 (3d Cir. 2001) (citing United States v. Rodia, 194 F.3d 465 (3d Cir. 1999)) (“[T]he requirement that at least one of the materials used to 10 produce the child pornography travel in interstate commerce provides the jurisdictional hook.”). Accordingly, there was sufficient evidence to uphold the convictions on all charges.