Court Opinion

ID: 9556252
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-16 18:01:06.918868+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T16:42:09.606996
License: Public Domain

Case: 23-20029        Document: 00516859824             Page: 1      Date Filed: 08/16/2023

             United States Court of Appeals
                  for the Fifth Circuit
                                     ____________                     United States Court of Appeals
                                                                               Fifth Circuit

                                      No. 23-20029
                                                                             FILED
                                                                       August 16, 2023
                                    Summary Calendar
                                    ____________                        Lyle W. Cayce
                                                                             Clerk
   United States of America,

                                                                      Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                            versus

   Andrew Jeffrey Swope,

                                              Defendant—Appellant.
                     ______________________________

                     Appeal from the United States District Court
                         for the Southern District of Texas
                              USDC No. 4:20-CR-84-1
                     ______________________________

   Before Smith, Higginson, and Engelhardt, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam:*
         Andrew Jeffrey Swope appeals the aggregate 360-month sentence
   imposed following his guilty plea convictions for two counts of sexual
   exploitation of minor children, one count of distribution of child
   pornography, one count of receipt of child pornography, and one count of
   possession of child pornography. He argues that the sentence is substantively

         _____________________
         *
             This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 23-20029     Document: 00516859824          Page: 2   Date Filed: 08/16/2023

                                   No. 23-20029

   unreasonable, and our review is for abuse of discretion.       See Holguin-
   Hernandez v. United States, 140 S. Ct. 762, 766-67 (2020); Gall v. United
   States, 552 U.S. 38, 51-52 (2007).
          Swope has failed to make the showing required to rebut the
   presumption of reasonableness that applies to his below-guidelines sentence.
   See United States v. Simpson, 796 F.3d 548, 557-58 (5th Cir. 2015). The
   district court heard all of his mitigation arguments at sentencing as well as
   the Government’s arguments for a higher sentence. Ultimately, the district
   court explained that its decision to vary downward to the chosen sentence
   was based on the nature and circumstances of the offense and the history and
   characteristics of the defendant. See 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(1). Swope’s
   arguments on appeal essentially urge us to reweigh the sentencing factors,
   which we will not do. See United States v. Hernandez, 876 F.3d 161, 167 (5th
   Cir. 2017).
          AFFIRMED.

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