United States v. Gabriel

Gabriel persuaded a 17‐year‐old girl to participate in a “program” he had used previously to manipulate women for his sexual gratification. Gabriel told the girl she could “train” troubled boys to resist Satan by having sex with them, took sexually explicit photographs of the girl, posted them to his website, and arranged for the girl to have sex with a 15‐year‐old boy. Before that happened, the girl’s mother discovered Gabriel’s emails and contacted authorities. After the jury convicted Gabriel of producing child pornography, the court noted that the statutory range for imprisonment was 15-30 years, 18 U.S.C. 2251(e). Gabriel did not file a sentencing memorandum, nor did he object to the presentence report or the government’s memorandum, despite inquiries by the judge. The court imposed the statutory minimum of 15 years' imprisonment plus the recommended life term of supervised release, stating that a longer sentence would be warranted if not for Gabriel's advanced age (80) and poor health. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, stating that a sentencing court need not separately justify the imprisonment and supervised release terms. Gabriel waived any challenge to the conditions of supervised release. He had advance notice, was warned that failure to object could be deemed a waiver, and never objected. View "United States v. Gabriel" on Justia Law