Child Porn Conspiracy Sentencing Violated Double Jeopardy

Conspiracy sentences applied to defendants in a child pornography case violated the double jeopardy clause, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held Sept. 20 (United States v. Gries, 2017 BL 331651, 7th Cir., No. 15-2447, 9/20/17).

John Gries and James McCullars received sentences for conspiracy to distribute child pornography, conspiracy to sexually exploit a child, and engaging in a child-exploitation enterprise, the decision by Judge Diane S. Sykes said.

The conspiracy counts are “lesser-included offenses of the enterprise count,” the court said.

Courts consider a lesser-included offense to be the same crime as the greater ...