Sentencing — sexual abuse of a minor

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U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

Criminal

Sentencing — sexual abuse of a minor

In sentencing the defendant for possession of child pornography, the district court did not err in finding that he sexually abused a minor, notwithstanding inconsistencies.

But the court did not clearly err in crediting the government’s evidence, particularly the five-year-old girl’s statements. Although the reports contain inconsistent dates over when she told her mother of the abuse (one report lists 2005, the other 2006), minor discrepancies are not a basis for finding clear error. See United States v. Nicksion, 628 F.3d 368, 376 (7th Cir. 2010); United States v. Robinson, 586 F.3d 540, 546–47 (7th Cir. 2009). The girl said that the abuse occurred when she was three or four years old (approximately 2005 or 2006), and the district court could find her statements to be sufficiently reliable given that she has steadfastly insisted (to her mother, to the police, and to the FBI) that she suffered repeated sexual abuse. See Doe v. United States, 976 F.2d 1071, 1079 (7th Cir. 1992) (explaining that three-year-old’s statements about sexual abuse were reliable because ‘the basic framework of [her] story remained the same’). The district court also reasonably noted that her description of sexual abuse was corroborated by Houston’s chat about his ejaculation fantasy as well as the two other accusations of sexual misconduct. See United States v. Meschino, 643 F.3d 1025, 1029 (7th Cir. 2011) (chat logs and testimony from another victim corroborated court’s finding of sexual abuse); United States v. Paull, 551 F.3d 516, 527 (6th Cir. 2009) (statements from victim’s family members corroborated victim’s description of sexual abuse); United States v. Stewart, 462 F.3d 960, 964 (8th Cir. 2006) (sexual ‘chat room banter was sufficiently reliable to support the sentencing enhancement’).”

Affirmed.

13-2713 U.S. v. Houston

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Castillo, J., Per Curiam.